The Maturity Dilemma
by karyshamy
Summary: After Sheldon's departure, (end of season 7), he thought he would find time to solve his problems, but he could never expect things to go that way. * This is my first FanFic! I hope you enjoy reading it!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's notes: **I've put a lot of thought on this story before writing. I've read a lot of TBBT fanfics before starting it, so I believe I've done enough research in order to be able to write the characters well (at least not so OOC), I hope I've done a good job ;-)

I already have the whole sequence planned, but I may adapt a few things in the way.

Please let me know what you're thinking about it.

Chapter 2 is almost ready, soon I'll be updating the story, so keep reading! =)

BTW: I don't own these characters.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Howard closed the door to his bedroom feeling relieved. His mom was in good hands (at least he hoped so) with Stuart, and now he could finally spend some time alone with Bernie. Lately it hasn't been an easy time for the gang, neither for them. With Sheldon's departure, he missed him as a friend, as they had become closer during the last few months. They have even started confiding personal things to each other, and Howard felt special being close to Sheldon, as he has always secretly admired him as a genius. They exchanged a few text messages, but it's not been the same.

"I never thought I would admit that, but I really miss Sheldon. I hope he comes back soon from this nonsense trip."

Bernadette was already lying under the sheets, feeling a bit sleepy. "Yeah, I know how you feel Howie, I was pretty shocked myself. I guess lately I've been too busy with your mom's issue and I completely forgot to support Amy. We haven't talked for a few weeks, just a little bit over the phone, but I think I'll pay her a visit soon or have a girl's night with Penny when she comes back." Bernadette felt so exhausted, she hoped she would still have strength to support her friend.

"With the wedding plans, Leonard and Penny have also been away. We should really check on Amy, see how she's dealing with Sheldon's departure."

"Howie, what did Sheldon tell you after he left?"

"Not much really. He just does not feel comfortable in sharing his thoughts with Leonard anymore, he's trying to avoid the apartment issue, as he doesn't wish to move to 4B." In fact, Howard was happy for being trusted by Sheldon. It's not that he didn't have a best friend. Raj is great, but lately he's been feeling a greater connection with Sheldon, as Raj was too busy with Emily. "Leonard is not being reasonable in his proposal, he knows Sheldon so well and he's not considering his issues with changing at all."

"Sheldon is a big baby. Leave it, Howie, he will figure it out with Leonard, let them solve their own problems." Bernie was exhausted after working long hours during the whole week. She just needed a break, take some rest and be with Howie for a while. "Now… Why don't we leave them now a bit and you try to fix something else here?" she blinked an eye to him.

"Hmmm… As usual you're right. Let me check it, how can we solve this?"

"Venus has a problem. It needs a rocket to fly there right now. Is astronaut Wolowitz ready for the mission?"

"Astronaut Wolowitz presenting himself for the mission!" And it was a long and pleasant trip.

Next morning, Bernie woke up with Howard snoring a little with his head on her shoulder. Hopefully he was so light that she could easily release herself from his arm lying on her belly. After a long shower, she started making them breakfast. It was Saturday morning, and Howie hated waking up early, which was great for her. That was when she could catch up with the science magazines and work on her stuff. Her research at work was consuming long hours, and she wanted to ease her mind and see what was going on in the other areas of microbiology. After pouring coffee in her mug, she lay comfortably on her couch with a magazine on her lap. She flipped the pages, reading a few lines of each article, when she found an interesting topic on neurobiology, and she was pleased to see Amy's name in it. Finding it a great opportunity to reestablish contact with her friend, and as Amy was an early riser too she stood up searching for her phone to call her.

"Hi Bernie, what's up?"

"Hi Amy, I really missed you, how are things with you?"

"Not much to complain about and you? You never call me so early, is there something wrong?"

"No, things are getting better now that Stuart is used to taking care of my mother-in-law" Bernie didn't want to start talking about Sheldon yet, not knowing how Amy would react. "I was just reading the new issue of Neuron and I found your new article here. Congratulations, Amy!"

"Thank you, Bernie." Amy didn't sound so excited about it. In fact, that was not a new article, it was something they delayed to publish, waiting for another research to be completed. "You know, that is not a big deal, just a few results I shared about addiction in monkeys… Old stuff."

"Oh Amy, even then you should be happy about it, what's going on? Are you still upset about Sheldon?" Bernie already regretted mentioning him so straight away.

"Not really. I'm just missing a new challenge in my life, everything seems to be stuck lately…" Bernie was not sure whether Amy was being evasive about Sheldon or if she really meant that. Just before she asked about him again, Howie appeared in the living room and sat by her side, kissing her exposed leg.

"Amy, Howie just woke up and I have to go now, why don't we meet tonight and catch up?"

"Well, I don't know, I'm not in the mood of a night out..."

"Why don't you come over for dinner? Howie will cook something for us, aren't you honey?" She blinked a convincing eye to him. "He just said he will be glad to cook for his lovely wife and her friend!"

Howard knew he couldn't fight her, so he just tickled her foot as a little vengeance.

"Hahahaha Oh stop it!" Bernie quickly kicks him out of the couch. "Sorry Amy, so I expect you here at 6?"

"Alright, see you guys later."

Amy turned off, still lying on her couch, with a cup of chamomile tea in her hand. After a very unproductive week both at work and at home, she didn't feel much motivated to do anything today. It was Saturday, and she was not spending it with Sheldon anyway, so what was the point in getting out of the couch? She turned on the TV and lazily changed channels, trying to find anything to distract her. Nothing, as usual. She had already watched Dr. Who. She was instinctively doing those little things that reminded her of Sheldon. She could feel him closer, as she missed him so much.

They last spoke 3 days ago, when he was on a train to the east. Their Skype session was short, he was a bit distant, and he said he was thinking about paying his mother a visit in a few weeks. Since he left, they always blew each other a kiss goodbye on Skype, and stared each other's eyes for a while before finishing the session. But the last time he looked really sad, and asked her, "Amy, do you think of me before you sleep?" She was surprised with his sudden question, breaking the usual goodbye ritual.

"Of course I do, Sheldon. I think of you all the time. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I've dreamed of you a lot lately, and I just wondered if you have been dreaming of me too." _'What a hippie'_, he thought, not sure if he regretted mentioning that or not.

"Err… Sheldon, I don't know what your dreams are like, but you are often with me in mine. I just wished you were here when I wake up too. I've been so lonely lately."

"But why, aren't our friends making you company? I've texted Howard and asked him and Bernie to take care of you. Aren't they following my instructions?"

"Well, they don't have to take care of me, they are too busy with Mrs. Wolowitz issues, I don't want to bother them." Amy was not sure if her answer would make things worse.

"_Of course_ you need to be taken care, Amy, I am away but I really care about your well-being, and I wanted to make sure our friends would support you for whatever you needed, and now I see it is not happening. Is that why you look paler today? I thought it could be just the lighting. Aren't you going out lately?"

"Not really Sheldon. I feel that I might need a change soon, my career is not moving forward, I need to find a new topic for research and nothing seems to inspire me." Amy not only was lonely, but she was being honest about how she felt about her job. "Maybe I should do the same as you, and travel a bit and ease my mind."

"Amy, what do you have in mind? Please, I know I left without notice, just please don't do the same to me. Don't use that as a punishment, I will be mortified if you run away. I need you to be with me when I return. I am going too far, considering a lot of possibilities for my life, there is a lot changing already for me to return and not have _you_ there." Sheldon had tears in his eyes. He was really being honest with Amy. She didn't know how to answer that without him freaking out.

"Sheldon, please, listen to me. Maybe I also need a breakthrough. I don't know what I'm going to do, maybe I could visit my aunt in the countryside, or contribute with someone else's work in another university rather than Caltech and UCLA, although I'm not really sure yet. I'll let you know as soon as I make my mind, ok?"

"Fine. But tell me you will be there for me when I return. You know I need you, Amy."

"I know that, I need you too."

"Alright. I have to go, the train is about to stop at a station and I need to find a place to buy reliable clothes and a new toothbrush. Take care."

"You too, Sheldon. Have a nice evening."

"Good night, Amy." And they blew each other another kiss.

That night Sheldon had another dream about Amy. It was always the same: Amy was in a cafeteria, ordering taped water. He arrived and introduced himself. She answered him _'I'm sorry, but my boyfriend is arriving here and he is not going to like to see me talking to a stranger'._ He tried to tell her that he was her boyfriend, but the words wouldn't come out. Instead, he saw another Sheldon arriving with his friends and standing by her side. Confronting himself was something he couldn't understand. What does that really mean? Could they still be together when he returned?

Then he suddenly approached them, punched the other Sheldon in the face and grabbed Amy's arm, moving quickly towards the door. '_Amy, come with me! I am your boyfriend now, forget about him. He doesn't deserve you!'._ Looking confused, Amy answered _'I'm sorry, but I don't know you.'_ Her arm is released and she runs back to his old self, helping him stand up and taking care of his wounds. He turns and see Professor Proton standing on his Jedy robe. _'Sheldon, why do you keep me here in your dreams? You know, I should rest, I'm not your baby sitter.'_ _'But I need to get her back' _he replies_._ Leaving in the front door, Arthur answers _'You didn't deserve her before, what makes you think you deserve her now? Appreciate her, Sheldon.'_

A month passed since he left, and he still felt like nothing was really solved in his mind. He played the last few months in his head a thousand times, and yet no apparent solution nor perspectives of returning to Pasadena. Even though he talked to Amy on a regular basis, he felt her distant and their conversations were not much further than discussing his trip events and his ideas on what do to instead of String Theory. Was he really changing? What was that trip about, was it really going to make him a new man? Someone who is not afraid of facing his own problems? Could he be the one Amy deserved?

He felt the need of seeing his mom and his meemaw. Perhaps they could provide him good advice. But then he remembered the last time he talked to his mother. _'Shelly, are you out of your mind? What were you thinking when you decided to leave everything behind to run trains like a hobo?'_ Well, that was not exactly supportive, but his meemaw would not be against him. She was always on his side, she was the only one who truly understood Sheldon and his quirks. Besides, he was really not into seeing his mom again, after the fiasco of his last trip to Galveston. She had now that 'boyfriend' who she was having coitus with like savages, which obviously he didn't approve. But he decided that he needed to leave all that behind and see his family. It was time to talk to someone who could understand him and provide some guidance in his life.

"Hello"

"Missy? What are you doing at mom's house?"

"Shelly, ain't that a surprise! Good talk to you too, dear."

"Could I speak to my mom, please?"

"Our mom, Shelly. And she is not here now."

"When is she returning?"

"Uh… She may could not be returning soon…"

"But what do you mean? Missy, where is Mom? Don't tell me she moved in with that boyfriend of hers!" Sheldon started to worry.

"No Shelly… In fact he is living here with her."

"Whaaat? And she hasn't told me? How could you let her do that? And where is George when we need a man to stand in this house?" He was now sweating and stuttering as he tried not to freak out.

"Shelly, everybody here agreed on that. She just didn't want to tell you because she knew you might would not be supportive, as I clearly see now."

"FINE. I'll be there in a few days and she will have to explain that_ herself_!" He yelled on the phone.

"But-" And Sheldon hang up on Missy, never letting her finish her sentence.

The next day he bought the train tickets to Houston, and even forgot to tell anyone he was going to visit his family. He would arrive there on Sunday morning. All he could think about was the preposterous news he heard over the phone from his twin sister.

* * *

Amy parked her car next to Howard's building and took a bottle of wine with her. Penny was visiting her family with Leonard, and Raj already had plans with Emily's friends tonight, so it would be just the three of them. Amy was not really comfortable with the idea of having dinner alone with the couple, she wished Sheldon could be there with her. She hasn't spoken to him since Wednesday, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to speak to him so soon. Maybe they needed some time apart. She had a lot of things in mind, maybe a few weeks off would do her good.

She rang the bell and waited in front of the apartment door. Howard welcomed Amy inside, thanking the wine and Bernie appeared from the bedroom door and greeted her.

"Amy! I'm so glad you came!"

"Me too, I think I wouldn't be in a good mood if I stayed home."

"Hey Amy, so have you talked to Sheldon lately?"

"Howie!" Bernie pinched his arm. "Don't be a pain in the _ass_!"

"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong? Are you two not getting along well?"

"It's ok, Bernie." Amy answered with a sad smile. "We spoke on Wednesday, but I haven't heard from him since then."

"Well, sorry for that, I haven't heard from him for a while either." Howard was not sure what he could say anymore.

"Amy dear, please, have a seat by the table. Can I pour you some wine? Which one did you bring?"

Bernie filled her a glass and sat by the table next to Amy. "Howard prepared a delicious chicken for us!" She said smiling, trying to cheer her up.

"It's my mom's recipe. I'm not as good cook as she is, but I try!" Howard said modestly. He served both girls and himself, then turned the radio on a Neil Diamond song. "And to accompany a nice meal good music is the best choice!" He smiled at Amy, and she returned with a grin.

"That's great Howard, thanks!" Amy started singing along quietly, while she bit a piece of the chicken. "_Yummy_, as Sheldon would say!" And that was a good memory of him, so she didn't bother to mention.

"I miss Sheldon too, we were getting along so well since our trip to Houston." Howard was really glad of becoming closer to him.

"Yeah, he was also happy with your new grown friendship. He was often talking about you." Amy replied sadly. "I'm sure he misses you too."

"Alright you two, enough of Sheldon! Amy, tell us about your work, what's going on there?" Bernie didn't want to make the whole conversation about Sheldon. She was concerned about Amy, and she wanted her friend to think of other things in life.

"Well, there is really not much to say. Since I finished my research on addiction I haven't found a new topic to explore, and I just wanted to work with something new. It's not that I don't enjoy the monkeys, but I could go much further in my area." Amy stopped and considered an idea. "Bernie, what are you researching now?"

"Well, in fact I'm about to finish a research on a new drug. I will finish my reports by next week, and there are a few new jobs available if I wanted to start something soon, but I'm not really sure yet about what I will try now."

"Maybe we could think about a cooperative research that could include both neuro and microbiology!" Said Amy with a sparkle in her eyes. "Have you ever thought about it? It would be so cool to work with you!"

"Sure it would! It would be a pleasure to cooperate with you in a research! We could think together about a topic and present it to UCLA and Zangen! Maybe we could develop a drug and you have it tested in the lab."

"That's a great idea indeed, why don't we meet in a few weeks and discuss that?"

"In a few _weeks_? Why so long?" Bernie thought Amy was anxious to give it a start, but maybe that was not exactly her plans.

"Well, I was thinking about traveling a little bit, take a few weeks off. You know, I was wondering that if it is doing good to Sheldon, maybe I could use the same tactic and try it myself."

"Are you sure about that? Why haven't you mentioned it to me before? I could have helped you planning, and maybe Howard and I could join you again, like in that trip to Napa Valley."

Just the memory of their kiss in the train brought tears to Amy's eyes. "That trip was amazing, but I don't want to travel with anybody, I think I need some time for myself, alone."

"Amy dear, I don't think it's a good idea. You've been lonely lately, and I feel it is a little my fault, but I hope to make up to you in the next days."

"Bernie, you and Howard don't have to worry about me. Sheldon told me that he asked you to take care of me, but it is really not necessary. You have your own stuff, Howie's mom, and you need some time to be together as a couple. Even though I have no experience in that I know you two need to spend time together. And I really think this trip could do me good."

Howard looked at Bernie, asking for permission to speak, and as she nodded he replied. "Amy, friends are meant to support each other, and we are not doing this just because _Sheldon_ told us to. You can count on us. I know Penny and Leonard are off these days, and they are not being supportive, but we're here for you, alright?"

"Thanks Howie. And thank you too, Bernie. You are very sweet, I really love you guys. But I have already made up my mind about the trip, so I hope you can support me in that too."

"Of course we can dear. Howie, pour Amy and me more wine. So now we are celebrating _your trip,_ and also our new future venture, whatever it will be!" The three friends cheered and kept on talking until late at night. Amy told them about the possibilities of her trip, and later Howard played Neil Diamond on the keyboard.

Amy left a little before midnight after a very pleasant evening. She had never been so close to the couple before, at least not with Howard. It was nice to see that she could count on them. She really missed Penny and their chats. Her Bestie was busy with the wedding plans and visiting her family. But even more she missed Sheldon. She didn't know how long she could stand his absence. The uncertainty about their future was driving her crazy, and she dreamt of him every day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's notes: **Thanks a lot for reading! As this is my first FanFic, I'm really glad for receiving positive comments on it! =)

Please keep reading, and chapter 3 will be done by the weekend.

Sorry for the grammar mistakes, etc, English is not my mother language!

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

BTW: I don't own these characters.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Sheldon texted Missy the day before to pick him up at the train station in Houston on Sunday at 9 am. He didn't want to make a surprise again and find his mom having coitus. After 3 days of traveling he finally arrived at his hometown. It was nice to go back home, however he was concerned about the conversation he would have to face with his mom. Weren't his problems enough, did his mom have to do that to him too?

He found Missy at the lobby of the train station, and he was surprised she was alone. "Where is Mom? Didn't she want to see me?"

"Shelly, let's go home. When we get there we can talk."

"All right then."

Sheldon knew his sister very well. He perceived there was something she didn't want to tell him. But fine, he would wait until they got home, he also knew how stubborn she could be. After a while, he decided to break the ice and start a little conversation.

"So, how's the baby doing?" He asked politely.

"Oh, Junior is doing great. He's such a cutie."

"I still can't believe you gave him your husband's name. Such a waste, he has the genes to become a genius in the future, he could have been named after Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking."

"I'm not arguing with you, Shelly. Michael is a good name and he doesn't need a fancy name to build rockets like you in the future." Missy replied sharply.

"How many times do I have to say that I'm not a rocket scientist? I'm a Theoretical Physicist! My work in Caltech-"

"Cut the crap, Sheldon. We're home. Jump off the pick-up and get inside. We need to talk."

"FINE."

Sheldon picked up his bag from the back of the car and got inside the house. When he entered the living room there was a non-desired familiar face offering a hand to him.

"I do not shake hands."

"Come on, Sheldon, be good to him. Ron, sorry for my brother's bad behavior."

"Err, no problem. Hello Sheldon, it's good to finally meet Mary's younger son."

"It's Mrs. Cooper for you. Missy, where is Mom? I thought she would be here to welcome me."

"Sheldon, that is exactly what we need to talk about." Missy hesitated a little, exchanging looks with Ron. "Mom is in hospital."

"WHAAAAT? And you haven't told me that why? Why? Why did you wait until we got here, we could have gone straight to the hospital! What happened to her?" Sheldon was angry, hiseyes red filled up with tears. "Where is Meemaw?"

"She is with her. There is no need for us to rush to the hospital, she is doing a treatment there."

"A_ treatment_? For what? What's going on Missy? Tell me _now_!"

"It happened two weeks ago. She felt a weird pain in her stomach and Ron took her to the hospital. If it wasn't for him, mom would have fainted alone here and we could have found it out too late." Missy patted Ron on his back. "Thanks again, Ron, I don't know how to thank you for all you've been doing for mommy." Missy turned to Sheldon again. "We found out she has a benignant tumor in her stomach. She is at the hospital under treatment and she will probably need a surgery to be performed in 2 or 3 weeks."

"_Dear Lord_, a TUMOR? Why didn't she call _me_? I would have come straight away to be with her!"

"Shelly, after your last visit she was afraid to tell you about Ron, and she preferred to keep you out of this until she got recovered. But you decided to come on your own, and we couldn't tell you not to come. She's been at the hospital for 2 weeks now, and Ron has been living here with her for the last 2 months. Mom was not ready to tell you yet, Sheldon. You know you gave her a hard time, _don't you?_"

Ignoring all Missy's accusations and feeling terrible for treating his mother like that before, Sheldon excused himself and ran upstairs to his old bedroom. He closed the door and lay down on his old bed, hyperventilating. He could never have thought that his mother was in such condition, and he might have been the cause of that! He regretted treating his mom badly so much, and now what should he do? He was there, alone, with a stranger in his own house and an angry unreasonable sister. He desperately felt the need to talk to Amy. He tried to call her, but reached her voice mail. He left her a few voice messages and sat on his bed again. What could he do now? He never felt so alone.

* * *

Sunday morning was a torture to Amy. She drank so much wine the night before at Bernie's she had to take a cab home. None of them were in conditions for driving her. She searched for painkillers and dragged herself to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. She didn't want to talk to anybody that day. She turned her cell phone off and left it on the bedside table. She decided she would plan her trip and she started searching for train tours in the Internet. She found a few routes that might be interesting, taking notes and creating a table with all the collected data. When it comes to research, that's what she did best. After a whole morning immersed in websites and traveling guide books she came out with three favorite places she could visit.

By noon she decided to relax a little and go shopping. She turned her cell phone on and found 5 voice messages from Sheldon. She decided not to check them today. So after 4 days he decided to look for her again? No, she needed a break from that too. She called Bernie and asked her out, and they decided to meet at 1 pm at the mall.

Bernie drove Amy's car to the mall and met her at a restaurant. They chatted for over an hour, had lunch and started searching for new clothes. Bernie suggested that now it was summer and Amy should look for lighter dresses. Accepting her suggestion, the girls went from store to store, trying nice season's clothes and after almost 2 hours both were tired and happy with their new acquisitions.

Amy arrived home at 4 pm and tried her new dresses on. One of them was a delicate short-sleeved blue flowered dress, showing a little of her cleavage and the skirt beam reaching her knees. The other was a long sleeved red dress with small pink dots in it, also reaching her knees, and the last acquisition was a pale green dress, with buttons in the front, made of a very light and soft silk, which she found to be too much for her, though she would love to dress it for a date night at home with Sheldon, matching her pair of nude heels. Removing that thought of him off her mind she decided she would spend the rest of the day planning her trip, worrying only about herself.

* * *

Penny and Leonard returned that afternoon from their trip straight to the 4A. Leonard enjoyed meeting Penny's whole family, and he got along with her cousins, which was the opposite situation he had with his own family. Those days on the farm were good for him. He got a sun tan and practiced a lot of sports with the farm guys in contact with nature. He felt like he found a second home, a place where he would enjoy traveling with Penny for resting from time to time.

Penny was also glad that Leonard met her whole family. As she would be the first in the family to marry without being pregnant, she wanted to show her fiancé off to everybody. Back home, after doing laundry, she wanted to talk to Amy to catch up with these days she had been away. At the farm the cell phone reception was not so good, and she preferred to wait until she got home to talk to her Bestie and to Bernie.

"Hello Bestie"

"Hi Ames, how are things going? We've just returned home from our trip to Nebraska."

"I'm ok, I'm planning a trip myself to have some time off work. I'll probably leave in 2 days. I just have to work tomorrow to organize my stuff and to get the approval of the human resources, but I'm pretty sure it will be fine, as they had already offered me a vacation a month ago."

"Good for you, Ames, where are you traveling to?"

"I would like to visit the Grand Canyon National Park. I've never been there and I always wanted to see it since I was a kid, but my mom thought the place was not appropriated for a 10 year old little lady, saying I could jump from a cliff and die, or get lost and raped."

"I _really_ hope you have a nice trip Ames! And have you talked to _Sheldon_ lately?" Penny answered, avoiding the weird crap from her mother.

"Well, we chatted via Skype last Wednesday, but I haven't heard from him lately…" Amy omitted the fact that she didn't want to check his 5 voice mails, but she really didn't think it was necessary.

"Oh, but are _you_ fine? Do you need me to talk to him for you?"

"No, Bestie, thanks, we're fine. I think I just need a break now, especially from work."

"I see, hope you have a nice trip, Ames! Talk to you soon!"

"See ya, Bestie!"

* * *

"That's weird, Bernie, I'm trying to call Sheldon since 9 am but it goes straight to his voice mail. He's not exactly 'busy' in this trip…"

"Well, that _whackadoodle _is probably too busy thinking about himself that he has no time to talk to his friends or Amy. Leave him alone a bit, he will call. By the way, Penny and Leonard returned this afternoon from their trip to Nebraska, what if we pay them a visit later in the evening?"

"Great idea, I'll call Raj! Are you inviting Amy too?"

"Sure, I think it will be great for her!"

"But how about before we go we engage in an outerspace trip to explore Venus?"

"It depends, is astronaut Wolowitz ready for this mission?"

"I'm pretty sure he is more than ready."

And Howard was very excited about exploring Venus with his rocket.

Later that day, Howard, Bernie, Raj and Emily arrived at the 4A for visiting Leonard and Penny. The couple ordered Thai food and sat on the couch, telling their guests all about the trip to Nebraska, and how Leonard got along with her cousins in the farm.

"Where is Amy? Isn't she coming?" Penny asked later.

"No dear, Amy said she was tired, she spent the whole morning planning her trip to the Grand Canyon. We also went shopping, and when we left she said she was too tired and she would finish her research for her trip. I called her but she said she'll come here some other time to see you."

"Oh, ok." Penny sounded disappointed, she was used to having Amy coming all the time, having her refusing dinner was kind of a shock.

"Poor Amy, I guess she is suffering _so much_ for being away from Sheldon," said Raj.

* * *

"Mr. Cooper, you may wait in the room on the left and a nurse will come to you when you are able to see your mother." The receptionist in the hospital was cold and turned away just when Sheldon would correct her about the '_Dr._ Cooper'. He headed to the room, and Missy and Ron followed him quietly. They haven't spoken much to each other since he went downstairs after lunch time and requested to visit his mom at the hospital.

Missy was talking to Ron about her baby when Sheldon interrupted her abruptly. "Who's the doctor in charge of Mom's treatment?"

"Dr. Millard is taking care of her. She is not at the hospital today, though."

"Great, the responsible is away and mommy is left here without the appropriated care. And you tell me you're looking after her! How do you intend to do that _properly?_" Sheldon inquired his twin sister with an angry look. But then a sweet voice softened him.

"Moonpie, that is not how I taught you to treat your sister!"

"Meemaw!" Sheldon ran in her direction, surprised to see her, and gave her a hug. "How's mommy, were you there with her?"

"Shelly, I told you that already!" Missy shouted, really mad at him.

"Moonpie, your mom is doing fine, she is resting right now, as she has just returned from an exam. She is a bit weak, she lost a lot of weight... Poor woman! But she is strong and you may see her in a while." Meemaw was gentle and patted Sheldon on the back, with a little grin. "Missy, you should go home and stay with your baby. I'm pretty sure Ron and Sheldon can stay here with me."

"But Meemaw, Michael is there taking care of him, I don't want to leave Mom, I already stayed away almost the whole day because I needed to pick up this stupid stubborn baby at the train station."

"Darling, you need to rest too. You've been here all night long, go see your baby and stay with your husband. We can talk again tomorrow, please?" She smiled, convincing Missy to leave.

"Ok, Meemaw, I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye Ron, sorry to leave you with my stupid brother."

"We'll be fine, just go and take some rest, dear. Sheldon and I will be fine, right buddy?"

Sheldon didn't answer. Instead, he was concentrated on his cell phone, checking if Amy had tried to call. He didn't realize he forgot to turn it on this morning. Nothing. At least Howard tried to call him 7 times. _'I'm becoming some sort of a hippie, I am even starting to miss Wolowitz'_ he thought. He turned to Meemaw, and gave her another tight hug.

"Meemaw, I can't understand why my mother didn't want me to know about her condition. She knew I was traveling, I could easily come here to be with her."

"She didn't want you to worry, Moonpie. Please, forget about that, it doesn't matter now. What does matter is that you're here." She comforted him with a kiss on his cheek.

Ron observed their interaction within a certain distance. He has been so insecure about how Sheldon would treat him. He didn't want to be rejected, he loved Mary and after a lot of frustrations in his life he couldn't afford losing her because of her son. He got along so well with Missy and George, he had no idea Sheldon could be so hard to deal with. He heard Mary speaking about him a lot of times, including the surprise visit he made her last year. That didn't go well, but he expected him to be more considering.

"So, Sheldon, where have you been lately? Mary told me you've been traveling all around the country by train, is this some sort of renewal experience?" Ron tried to give him a little pat on his back, and Sheldon moved away.

"Err… I don't want to talk about it. Where I go or my reasons for that are none of your concern. Please leave the small talk out, I'm really not into that." Sheldon responded abruptly. He was really making an effort for being as rude and indifferent as he could to that man.

"Sheldon! You shouldn't talk to Ron like that!" Meemaw reprehended him again. "I'm sorry, Ron, please forgive my grandson." Then she turned to Sheldon, grabbing his arm and dragging him to the other side of the room.

"Moonpie, you listen to me now. That man has been really good to your mother. If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be here now. She had a bad crisis at home, and he brought her here straight away."

Sheldon looked at her with watery eyes and replied. "But Meemaw, she is living in sin with that man! That's unacceptable! I can't even consider how she allowed herself to do that, it's against all her beliefs! He is probably changing her, Meemaw, and that can be no good!"

"She is changing, Moonpie, but for good. She is much more tolerant and accepting new challenges in her life. Everybody changes Moonpie, even you. Don't you realize how different you are now? Amy did that to you, and even with you treating Missy and Ron like shit I know that deep down you're just scared. You have friends who live together without being married, and you accept them, don't you? Why is it so hard to do the same to your mother?"

"I don't know, Meemaw, so much has changed in my life lately, I am trying hard to accept that and understand how things are going to be right now. I miss Amy so much, she doesn't even call me anymore and I'm desperate!" And he bursted into tears, hugging Meemaw tight, sitting on a chair by the corner of the cold, white room. She understood him, her grandson was suffering a lot and his girlfriend was not there for him. Since he started dating Amy, she knew her importance in his life, and that look in his eyes didn't lie. He was in hell.

Sheldon cried for more than 30 minutes in his Meemaw's shoulder. She was there holding him and stroking his hair softly. When he was calming down, she sang him quietly Soft Kitty in his ear. He sighed, relieved for letting all the stress of the last few months run dry with his tears. He thought there was nothing left for him to cry for the rest of his life. _'What a naïve thought, I know that is impossible'_, he corrected himself promptly. _'I'm turning into a hippie.'_

After 20 minutes, the nurse came to them and said that Mrs. Cooper could receive them now in her room. The three of them walked silently through the hall, Meemaw holding Sheldon by his waist, and Ron walking behind them, with a certain safety distance.

The opening of the door revealed a shockingly thin Mary Cooper to his eyes. He never saw his mom so weak, so fragile. Her eyes opened and he sat by her side, holding her delicate hand.

"Shelly Bean, I'm so glad to see you here. I'm sorry I didn't call you before, I regret that now."

"Mom, it's ok, you'll be fine. I'm here with you, I will stay as long as needed until you are fully recovered. May I hug you? Are you hurting?"

"Come here Shelly, I could stand any pain to be able to hug my baby." She said, with watery eyes.

"Mom, I'm so sorry I treated you badly lately, I didn't mean to be rude with you."

"Well, that's ok, no problem dear." Looking at Ron, she raised her right hand and asked him to come closer. "Shelly, Ron and I are living together now. I am in a new moment of my life. It's been a long time since your dad left us, it took me so long to move on. But I'm glad I did, I really love Ron and I'd like to spend my life together with him. Are you able to understand that, sweetheart?" Mary stared at Sheldon, waiting for his reply.

"Mommy, I want you to be happy. That's all." Sheldon could speak no more, and he stood up, sitting then on the armchair next to the door. Meemaw stood up and said. "Moonpie will be a good boy now and support his mother, right dear?" Sheldon nodded, looking down, not daring to say a word.

* * *

Amy couldn't stop thinking about Sheldon. She was really curious about his messages, but decided to hold on and check them later. Why couldn't she focus on herself, at least for a while? She concentrated again on the information she collected from the Internet, and she was definitely going to visit the Grand Canyon.

She bought the tickets for Tuesday morning, the first available train. She was looking forward for that trip, and she started collecting from her shelves all the books she would like to read during the following weeks. She also booked a hotel near the park for 3 days and checked the restaurants and stores in the area. If she enjoyed the trip, she could repeat it with Sheldon in the future. And there it goes again, Sheldon was visiting her mind. Why was it so hard to let him go for a while?

She picked up her phone and hid it under her pillow. She closed the door to her room and headed to the kitchen to make tea. As she looked at the window, she took a sip of her tea and wondered if Sheldon was thinking of her too. Maybe he forgot all about her, he is probably going to visit his mom and his Meemaw, and she knew how he enjoyed spending time with his grandma, so he will probably not even think about her for days, eating her good food and spending time with her in the garden. Maybe both of them needed a break from each other.

* * *

Later in that night, Sheldon was back to his mother's house. Ron drove them, dropping Meemaw at her ranch first. The trip back to the house was quiet and uncomfortable. Sheldon stared at the window the whole trip, not saying a word to that man. When they arrived, Ron tried to break the ice. "Hey Sheldon, would you like a cup of coffee? You look tired."

"I don't drink coffee."

"Maybe some tea?" He got that hint from Mary before they left the hospital.

"Tea would be good, thank you."

"Alright, why don't you take a sit while I prepare it for you."

Ron started heating the water in the kitchen, while Sheldon sat in the living room, staring at the decoration. The big crucifix in the middle of the wall, the images of saints and the big Holy Mary standing on a shelf, surrounded by a Bible and all sorts of useless ornaments. Most of them were the same since he was a child. And now that place was not his home anymore, it was Mom and Ron's house. Maybe he should have stayed at Meemaw's, but he couldn't stand his noisy cousins who lived with her. Maybe Ron was not that bad after all.

He stood up and headed to the kitchen, sitting by the large squared table. Ron handed him a mug, asking him which kind of tea he'd like.

"Chamomile, please."

Offering him the box with tea bags, Ron picked up his own flavor and sat together with him, maintaining a certain distance.

Sheldon looked at his eyes for the first time. "Thank you for what you're doing to my mother. You're a good man."

Surprised by Sheldon's sudden honesty, Ron smiled, having a sip of his tea. "You're welcome. I really love your mother and I would do anything for her. I am not here taking any advantage of her, Sheldon. I respect her a lot and we are here living together in a common agreement."

"I understand. I know I didn't handle it well a few months ago, but I want my mother to be happy. If you make her feel this way, who am I to stand between you?" He looked down, trying to avoid eye contact with Ron. He was sincere, but that conversation was way too uncomfortable for him.

"I appreciate your effort to understand the situation, Sheldon. Thank you." Ron stood up, placing his mug by the sink.

"So, Sheldon, I guess this is it. Good night."

"Good night, Ron."

Sheldon stood there in the kitchen for a while, drinking his tea slowly, now thinking about Amy. He needed her so badly to be with him. But it was late, she has to work tomorrow, and he couldn't explain her the whole situation tonight, after a day filled with emotions. He was exhausted. Maybe he should go to bed and take some rest, so he could return to the hospital tomorrow morning to stay with his mother and call Amy again at night.

And that's what he did. He headed to his old bedroom, locking himself inside and going straight to bed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's notes:** Thank you guys for the reviews! I'm enjoying writing this story! I tend to be more dramatic than go through comedy, but I explored a few funny moments in this chapter. And also a little action to start, after all this is an M story.

Please leave your comments! =) I'd love to read them!

Chapter 4 will be ready soon.

BTW: I don't own these characters.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

That night Sheldon slept heavy. In his dream, instead of Amy asking for taped water, she was lying on his bed, covered with the comforter, sleeping softly. He was lying by her side, watching her sleep. She was so beautiful. Her brown hair slipped slightly from her bare shoulder, revealing a sight of her back to him. _'Is she… naked?'_ He wondered in surprise. As he pulled the cover a little, he confirmed she really was. _'Why is Amy naked-'_ and his thought was interrupted by a noise coming from the living room. We stood up from bed and it was only then he noticed he was naked as well. Horrified, he reached for his robe, put it on and tied it up to his waist and opened the door slowly, trying not to wake her up. He stepped carefully towards the living room, when he saw a man figure standing there in a Jedi's robe, staring at the sofa.

'Arthur?'

"Sheldon, I'm sorry, I think I might accidentally have split your sofa into two with my lightsaber."

"My spot! How could you do that to me?!"

"I guess I really don't know how to use this thing. I was sitting down here and my arm hit this button and when I realized the lightsaber was on and the damage was already done…"

"But how can I live without my spot? Don't you understand how much it means to me?"

"This is an old sofa, just get rid of it and get a new one. You have better things to worry about now, don't you?" Arthur started listing every single problem Sheldon had in the last few months. After a while listening to him, he was impatient, wanting to return to his room.

"Arthur, I know the problems I have. You don't have to tell me them all again. I have an eidetic memory."

"Are you on a hurry? I see that you're constantly looking back at the hall. Is there something else there you prefer instead of being here with this old clumsy spirit?"

"It's just that Amy's there and…"

"And you want to be with her, right?"

Sheldon nodded. He couldn't say why he was so anxious for coming back to his bedroom and lay beside Amy again.

"Are you living together now?"

"I'm not sure. But she's sleeping here in my bedroom. There might be a reason for that."

"Do you like to have her here with you?"

"Of course. Isn't that obvious?"

"It is for me. Is it that obvious to you?"

Arthur disappeared as Sheldon looked at the hall again. He went back to his room, and stood for a while by the door, not sure if he should knock first. _'Why should I knock on my own bedroom's door?'_ He opened it slowly in order not to wake Amy up. There he was, just watching her sleep peacefully. Removing his robe, he lay again beside her, feeling her warmth close to him. Staring at her bare shoulder, he leaned his head and planted a little kiss on the curve next to her arm. Her skin was so soft. He moved his head to her neck, kissing it softly. Amy moaned, but was still asleep. The scent of her hair was like a drug to his brain. Could he hold her? He moved closer, as he licked her earlobe. They were so close he could feel her entire body. He gently caressed her waist, moving his hand to her thigh, stroking her curves, feeling her skin, moving even closer to her now. He didn't want her to wake up and move away. His other hand was stroking her hair, and he kissed her neck and her back. His lower hand started moving up, and his fingers found a trail to her breasts. They felt so soft he wanted to squeeze them. He took one in his hand and pinched her nipple. Amy moaned again. This time she woke up and turned her head to him.

"Hello, cuddles."

"Hello Amy. Listen, despite I am enjoying a lot touching you, I don't understand why you are here."

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No, it… isn't really."

"I'm here because you wanted me to be here with you."

"D-did I?"

"Sure. That's why you're dreaming about me."

"D-dreaming?"

And Sheldon woke up panting. She felt so real he already missed touching her soft skin. _'Dear Lord, how am I supposed to sleep again with_ this_?'_ He started stroking his erection slowly, knowing that this time again he wouldn't be able to just fix that with Kolinahr. It was almost 4 am and Ron would probably be asleep now. Could he open the door and move quickly to the bathroom without waking him up?

* * *

It was Monday morning and Amy was driving to work. She was really excited about traveling the next day. After speaking to the human resources, she found that it would be fine to take a 3-week vacation starting tomorrow. She thought whether she should inform Sheldon about her trip or not, as she promised him that when they spoke last Wednesday. But there was no rush for that, she didn't want to speak to him yet. She was finally able to take care of herself, to thing about her needs and speaking to him seemed to be a throwback.

Amy opened the door to her lab. Everything was so organized, that she didn't have much left to do that day. After distributing a few tasks and cleaning up a drawer with the last brain samples she was working the week before, she decided to leave earlier to pack her bags for the trip. She left Caltech right after lunch. As she was driving home, her phone started ringing on her pocket. She definitely shouldn't answer that while driving and she knew by the ringtone it was Sheldon.

* * *

Penny stared at the ceiling feeling down. After a nice trip to Nebraska with Leonard, she felt happier than ever. But returning to her routine, with no job and staying at home, she didn't know what to do. She was getting bored of looking for decorations for her wedding in the internet. She wanted to go out and see it, touch it. She thought about calling Amy again to check if she could meet her tonight, before her trip. As her Bestie was her maid of honor, she might want to give her a hand with the wedding plans. And she really missed talking to her.

"Hello Bestie"

"Ames, how are you?"

"Fine, I've just started packing my bags for the trip tomorrow morning. And you?"

"I'm ok. I was wondering if you would like to go to a few stores and search for decorations for my wedding? You are the maid of honor, you know."

"I would love to do that with you Penny, but couldn't it wait until I return from my trip? I'm not really in the mood for that now."

"Err.. sure, no problem sweetie! If you want me to I could go to your place and help you pack!"

Penny never offered her help so promptly to Amy.

"That would be lovely! You could tell me also about your trip to Nebraska. What time would you like to come?"

"Could it be now?"

"Sure, Bestie, see you soon."

That was weird. What was going on with Penny? Amy decided to call Bernie and check with her to find out what was that about.

"Amy! What a surprise!"

"Hi Bernie, is that a bad time?"

"No, in fact I'm taking a little break from work at the cafeteria."

"Great. I'm traveling tomorrow morning, so I'm at home packing. Penny is coming to help me up. But I think she is a little… how can I explain… Too willing to help?"

"What do you mean? Penny usually helps with stuff."

"I know that, but she asked me to go out with her shopping for her wedding, and as I declined it she offered right away to come here and help me up. Am I crazy or Penny is in need of a friend?"

"Well, maybe she is. She usually seems strong and self-confident, but even Penny has a bad time once in a while…"

"Maybe. But she never came to me in need. Well, would you like to come here later too? We could have a last girls' night before I travel."

"That would be great! I just need to go home and change before going to your place. See you later!"

* * *

Knock knock knock Ron!

Knock knock knock Ron!

Knock knock knock Ron!

He opened the door of the bedroom and stared at Sheldon with his sleepy eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's 6:30, I prepared breakfast. Please come join me in the kitchen."

Ron went downstairs and couldn't believe his eyes. Sheldon prepared a large breakfast for them. "Why did you do all that?"

"Don't you like it?"

"Absolutely, it's not that, I just didn't expect you to do anything for me at all."

"I woke up early and decided to make you breakfast as a thank you gift for all you've done to my mom. I also needed to apologize for my behavior. Please, sit down and help yourself."

"Well, thank you too Sheldon, and you don't have to apologize, I know you've been through a tough time lately."

Ron sat by the table, trying to decide what he would have first. The table was filled with all sorts of bread, French toasts, cakes, pancakes, fruits, oatmeal, cereal. The smell of coffee and morning food was amazing. Ron grabbed a piece of cake and started pouring him some coffee. "That's delicious Sheldon, I didn't know you could cook so well."

"I learned with my Meemaw. I'm glad you liked it."

They enjoyed a nice breakfast together, getting to know each other better. Ron told Sheldon about his drinking addiction, that he was happy to inform that it was under control for now over 5 years. He also told him about his daughter, who was a lawyer and worked in New York. She didn't speak much to him until last year, when she was finally convinced about his recovery. He told Sheldon that last year was the best one of his life. Not only his daughter was closer to him again, but he got to know Mary better. He hadn't been in a relationship for over 15 years, and having Mary's trust and to be with her meant a lot to him.

Sheldon listened to Ron's stories, laughed and had a good time with him. He might not be his father, but he didn't dislike the fact that he would become a present figure in his life.

After that Ron drove them to the hospital. Mary was glad to see them both arrive together in her bedroom. She welcomed them with a large smile and a kiss.

"Look at y'all! I can't believe you're like two old friends!"

"He even made me breakfast today! I was shocked to see all that food on the table so early." Ron patted Sheldon on the back. He received Ron's hand on his back without moving away. He was happy for making friends with him. And it was not just to please his mom. He really meant it.

After lunchtime at Meemaw's, Sheldon found some time alone and tried to call Amy again. He heard the ring tone until he reached her voice mail. He left her another message. He didn't understand why she was not answering him or returning his calls. He felt hurt, especially after the dream he had last night.

"Moonpie, are you going to stay outside? Come in, your cousins are asking about you, and George will be here any moment."

"Meemaw, can we talk alone for a while?"

"Sure dear, what's wrong?"

"Amy won't return my calls. I've been trying to contact her since Saturday without success. Do you think she is leaving me?"

"Well, I don't know, Moonpie, if you tell me what's going on between you two maybe I can give you some advice."

"Hmm… I'm not really sure about what is going on between us. We've been talking on a regular basis since I left Pasadena. I was kind of rude to her before I left, but she seemed to be ok with it. Last Wednesday we had a nice conversation, until she started talking about needing some time for herself to think and she even mentioned going on a train trip like me!"

"Why do you say that as a bad thing?"

"Because she can't leave me Meemaw! I don't want to let her be alone. I want to be with her. I dream about her every night, and in my dreams she doesn't want to be with this new Sheldon who returns from the trip. I'm afraid she will change and won't need me in her life anymore."

"Don't be so insecure, Moonpie. Not all changes are a bad thing. In fact, most of them could be positive if we look carefully at them. As I already pointed out, you've changed a lot lately, and Amy helped you to be a better person. Why do you think she will change so much that she will not need you anymore? Don't you love each other?"

"Well… in fact we do. I know she loves me, Meemaw, even though she never confessed it to me, and neither did I. She wanted to move in with me for a while, and when she mentioned that again a little before I left Pasadena I freaked out! And to make things worse, I didn't say goodbye to her. She said it was ok, but now I'm not sure about anything anymore."

"Maybe you could return to Pasadena and set things straight with her."

"What? No! And leave mom here in this condition? That would be unacceptable. I need to talk to her and ask her to come here!"

"So what are you waiting for?"

"She won't answer me, Meemaw."

"Well, maybe Leonard could talk to her for you, couldn't he?

"I don't know, I'm not talking to Leonard lately. With all that nonsense of moving Penny into my apartment and having me move to 4B, I really don't want to deal with that now."

"But you have other friends, right?"

"Hm… That's true, maybe Howard could help me with that. I haven't told anybody about being here, or about mom's condition, but I can't hide here forever…"

At that moment George arrived with Missy at Meemaw's. Missy held little Michael in her arms, and George had that lovable grin on his face. Sheldon was greeting him with a handshake when George pulled his arm and hugged his little brother.

"Hey Shelly, how's my little brother doing? Been riding trains lately, uh?"

"Hello George. Yes, but now I'm here to be with mom."

"So tell me more, let's come inside."

And the three brothers entered Meemaw's house, sitting by the table and chatting for the rest of the afternoon. Sheldon felt comfortable somehow being close to his siblings again. They fought a lot when they were kids, but now things seem different. They were not 2 little bastards being a pain in the ass. They were grown-ups chatting about their families and their work.

Meemaw joined them later again with little Michael asleep in her arms. She handed the baby to Missy, who started breast feeding him. Sheldon looked away, blushing. Missy noticed he was uncomfortable, and teased him.

"Shelly, don't you want to hold him for a while?"

Sheldon became red. "But how am I supposed to do that while you're breast feeding him?!"

She laughed at him, blinking an eye at George. "I'm just kidding, Silly Shelly. Let him finish and I will let you hold him for a while, ok?"

"Er… that is not necessary."

"Moonpie, don't you want to hold your nephew? He's family!"

"No, I didn't mean that, of course I'd like to hold him" he answered not being very convincing.

After the baby was fed, Missy handed him to Sheldon.

"Come on, Shelly, it's time for him to burp. Help him."

"What? That's disgusting. Do your really expect me to do that?"

"Of course, if he doesn't burp he will have a reflux!"

Sheldon became really nervous. _'Is the baby vomiting on me? The germs! No!'_ he thought. It would be smarter to follow Missy's advice.

"Alright, just tell me what I need to do."

"Well, hold him sideways, and be sure his head is slightly elevated, resting on your shoulder. Then you rub his back a little for a while until he burps!"

"Can't he do that by himself?"

"Well, at least not yet. He needs help, Shelly, he is just a baby."

After a lot of rubbing on the baby's back, he finally burped. Sheldon held him for a while, and handed him back to Missy. She took him to the bedroom and George started teasing him.

"So, nice practice for when you have your own."

"That's not going to happen. At least not so soon."

"Why not? Doesn't Amy want one?"

"She… She… well, I guess she does, but that's not something I'd like to think about right now."

"After Phillip and Junior maybe you can give our Mom a granddaughter. I'm pretty sure she'd love that."

"Well, I don't know why we're having this nonsense conversation, but it's impossible to predefine the gender of the baby if it's a natural fertilization."

"Stop talking science to me, little boy. I know you pretty well. Have you and Amy ever had sex?"

"Whaaat? That's none of your business, George!" Sheldon blushed.

"As I thought… And is that because you want to marry her first according to mom's ideas or are you still freaking out about the germs?"

"I'll not respond to that either."

"Boy, you have to be honest with her. No woman will wait forever until you make a decision."

"Well, excuse me, I'm not having this conversation with you."

"Well, I'm afraid you just had!"

Sheldon left the room, heading to the door to the porch. He sat down on the swing, giving himself a little impulse and hanging slowly there. The sun was going down, in a beautiful sunset. He stared at the sky, thinking about Amy. Would she like to have kids with him? Would _he_ like to have a kid at all? How could he think about that when he didn't even know if she would ever speak to him again? Should he try to call her one more time? Or would he sound desperate? Well, maybe he really should try to call Howard and tell him the whole story. Maybe he could help.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note:** This chapter turned to be a link between what I expected to happen from Chapter 3 to 4. It was not planned before, but I really think it was necessary. Thanks a lot for reading!

Are you enjoying the story? I am loving to write it, sometimes I get stuck in a part, after all I want to wrap up the parts well and not to skip anything. Please leave your comments! =) I love reading them.

BTW: I don't own these characters.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

It was Monday evening and the guys were at the 4A eating Thai food and playing video games. The girls were at Amy's, so they were enjoying a boy's night. Stuart was talking to Howard about Mrs. Wolowitz, and Raj and Leonard were arguing about who beat who in the game.

"Your golden sword could never beat my shield of glory!"

"I guess it just did!" Leonard was smiling confidently.

"No way! You cheated."

"There's no way I cheated, why can't you accept the true?"

Howard bit a piece of his chicken, laughing at the guys' stupid argument, when he saw his phone ringing on the coffee table. It was a Skype session invitation from Sheldon.

"Hey guys! Sheldon's calling!"

Stuart didn't show much enthusiam about it, and the other guys didn't pay attention to him, as they were still arguing about who beat who.

"Hi Sheldon! It's been a while, how are things with you?"

"Hello Howard. Well, not so good exactly, I wish we could talk a little. Wait, are you in my spot?"

"Well, since you're not here, I thought that you wouldn't mind…"

Sheldon thought for a minute. Did it really matter now? It was the smallest of his problems. "Nevermind. Is Leonard there with you?"

"Sure, wanna talk to him?"

"Did I say that?"

"Well, no, I just thought you'd like to say hi."

"No, thank you. Is there a place where we can speak in private?"

"Let me move to the kitchen, just a sec." Howard stood up and sat at a stool by the island. "All right, what's up Sheldon?"

He looked down, biting his lower lip for a while. Then he looked up again. "Howard, please tell me how Amy is. I couldn't talk to her in the last few days, and I'm worried about her."

"Well… Amy's felling better, she had dinner with me and Bernie last Saturday, we had a great time."

"Good. But she told me the two of you were not taking care of her. Why did that happen?"

"In fact she mentioned that, she doesn't want to be taken care Sheldon. But Bernie and I know she needs help, and we are trying to be as supportive as she allows us."

"Ok. Did she mention something about going somewhere?"

Howard was not sure if Amy wanted Sheldon to know about her trip to the Grand Canyon, so he decided not to tell him yet. "Well… why do you ask?"

He hesitated a little. He didn't want to tell him yet he was in Texas, neither to expose his mother's issue to the guys, as he was trying to avoid Leonard. "Nothing, I'm just curious… Howard, I need to speak to you without the boys being around, can I call you tomorrow?"

"Sure, call me in the morning, Bernie leaves early to work and we can speak in private."

"Thank you, Howard. It was good to talk to you." He gave Howard a small grin.

"Good to hear from you too, Sheldon. Call me whenever you need anything, ok?"

"All right, I will. Talk to you tomorrow then. Bye."

* * *

Amy heard a knock on the door, and she was surprised Penny arrived there so quickly.

"Hi Bestie!"

"Hello Ames" She gave her best friend a warm hug. "I missed you so much!" A tear fell from her right eye, which she quickly wiped before releasing from the hug. "So, let's pack your stuff?"

The girls headed to Amy's bedroom, where two suitcases were open on her bed, ready to be filled. Penny started opening the drawers and chose a few items that Amy had to take with her. "You should definitely take _this_ one!" Penny showed Amy the pale green dress she bought yesterday.

"Oh, Penny, I'm not sure, I feel too exposed with this one. I just bought it because Bernie insisted a lot."

"It's lovely, you'll look great in it! Just take it with you."

"All right, then." Amy smiled, feeling more confident with Penny's assurance. She went back to the kitchen to pick up a bottle of wine and poured two glasses. She went back to the room, and handed a glass to Penny. "Now aren't you going to tell me about your trip to Nebraska?"

Penny filled Amy up with all the details, telling her how her parents loved Leonard and the great time they spent there. "Can you believe Leonard rode a horse? He learned so fast! He got really close to my cousins. Look! I took a picture of him!"

"Wow!" Amy looked at the photo, giggling. "He really looks like a prince on his white horse." _'Short, but still a prince'_, she thought.

"Doesn't he? I love that horse, I used to ride him a lot when I was a teenager."

"And could you spend some time alone with him there?" Amy was willing to hear about the hot stuff too. Penny always had great stories to tell.

"Oh, we had a great time by the lake, you know, just the two of us, under the moonlight…"

"Sex under the stars? How romantic!" Amy blushed a little.

"Romantic? It was hot as hell!" Penny giggled, spilling all the details.

The two bags were almost done. Amy went to the kitchen to refill their glasses. Penny sat on the couch and turned the TV on. Handing the glass to Penny, she decided to change the subject a little.

"So, Bestie, how are the preparations for the wedding? Have you already bought any stuff?"

"Well, just a few things, but I'm not as excited as I thought I would be…" She looked down, staring at her glass.

"Why not?"

"I don't know, I love shopping, but searching for decorations in the internet is kind of boring and exhaustive. I'd rather do that personally, visiting the stores, seeing and touching things, you know?" Penny sighed, and looked back to Amy. "I also don't want to do that all by myself…"

"Oh Bestie, I wish I could do that with you now, but I really need to take this trip." Amy wished she wouldn't leave her Bestie alone. " I promise when I return I will help you with all the shopping."

"Thank you Ames, I'd really love that. And as I'm not working, I don't want to just go spending Leonard's money either. You know how compulsive I can be, so I need to be careful."

"Of course, when I return I can also help you plan the costs!"

Penny smiled, and as she began to speak again they heard a knock on the door.

"Hi Bernie!"

"Hey Amy! I'm glad you invited me, I didn't want to spend all night taking care of my mother-in-law."

"What about Stuart?" Amy asked.

"We let him take a break from her tonight, so he could spend the night playing with the guys. But she's fine, she went to bed earlier and I left a few cookies and a glass of milk beside her in case she was hungry."

"Those Valium cookies you prepared in the lab?" Amy stared at Bernie.

"Of course not! I'd never do that kind of thing." Bernie answered with an innocent smirk on her face.

The girls talked all night, drinking wine and gossiping. Neither Penny nor Bernie mentioned Sheldon, and Amy didn't bring him up to the conversation either. Leonard and Howard picked them up later, and they all gave Amy a tight goodbye hug. Amy was a little emotive because of the wine and dropped a few tears. She was really going to miss her friends. Raj also showed up with Emily to say goodbye. He offered to take her to the station. She accepted, she could use some help with the bags, and she wouldn't need to leave her car at the parking lot. Raj would pick her up at 6 am, as her train departed at 7:15, and she needed to arrive there thirty minutes earlier.

After they all left, Amy went straight to bed. She didn't remember to check Sheldon's messages. She was so drunk and tired that she fell asleep just after she laid her head on the pillow.

* * *

Sheldon was upset he couldn't tell Howard about his mom and his trip to Texas. He turned to his back in bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking about Amy. He couldn't lose her. He would talk to Howard in the morning and ask for his help. He wanted her to be there with him, he needed her. No, he _loved_ her. Meemaw made him realize his feelings for Amy, and now all he could think about was how he would manage to tell her that. But first he needed to ask her to come to Texas to be with him. After all he was spending at least 2 more weeks there until his mom recovers from the surgery.

As he definitely couldn't sleep, he decided to make himself a cup of warm milk, and went downstairs. Noticing that the light from the porch was on, he went outside and saw Ron sitting on the bench, wrapped in a blanket, drinking a cup of tea.

"Can't sleep either?"

"Oh, hi Sheldon, I didn't see you coming. Take a sit."

"Ok. Why are you here? It's late already. Are you worried about my mom?"

"Yeah. You know, I see her every day, but I miss her a lot. I wish she was home with me, not spending the night alone at that hospital." Ron was a little embarrassed to share that with Sheldon, but somehow he felt comfortable about it.

"Well, I know how you feel. I really wish Amy was here with me. It would make things much better. She makes me feel stronger. I just never told her that. I can't believe the _coward_ I've been lately… Not only lately, but in my entire life. I've never been ready for feelings or intimacy, and now I find myself craving for that, and I just don't know what to do."

"Sheldon, I spent the last fifteen years avoiding meeting someone new. I now regret it so badly. I wish I had found your mom earlier, my life would have been a lot better. But God knows what he's doing, he waited for Mary to be ready for me too."

Sheldon remembered how his mom was devastated after the death of his father, and he was happy she had overcome her sadness and could start a new life with Ron. He was a good man, after all.

"Don't worry, Ron, she will be back before you notice. After the surgery she will be able to come home for recovery."

"I know that Sheldon, but it still sounds so far from now. Time is passing really slowly, it seems like forever since I took her to the hospital."

The two men talked for a while before feeling really tired. They went to bed and were finally able to sleep. The next morning, Sheldon woke up early, prepared breakfast for them and then went to his room to call Howard on Skype.

"Hello Howard."

"Hi Sheldon. How are you feeling today?" Howard smiled, trying to cheer Sheldon up.

"Feeling better, thank you."

"So, what was so important you needed to tell me in private?"

Sheldon looked down for a while, choosing the right words. He looked up again, staring at the screen. "Howard, what I'm going to tell you needs to stay just between us. At least until I'm comfortable enough to tell the other guys about it."

"Ok Sheldon, you know you can trust me. I won't tell anyone."

"Not even Bernadette?"

"No, I promise." Howard gave him an affirmative look.

"All right, then." He paused for a while, and continued. "I'm in Texas visiting my mother. When I arrived here on Sunday I found out... she was... in hospital." A tear fell on his cheek. "She has a tumor in her stomach, and she needs to go through surgery."

Howard had a sad look on his face. "And you just found it out when you arrived? Why didn't they tell you before? How long has she been in hospital?"

"She's been there for 2 weeks now. Missy told me she didn't want to tell me because she was not comfortable with sharing the news about her moving in with her boyfriend."

"That guy you saw with her in our trip to Houston?"

"Exactly. I was really upset when Missy told me that over the phone last week. I decided to take a train to Galveston and confront her, but as I arrived I... received the news about her tumor."

"Oh Sheldon, I'm sorry about your mom. But is the tumor benignant or malignant? What did the doctor say?"

"It's benignant, and she will probably recover well from the surgery, but she lost a lot of weight and looks so fragile. I've never seen her like that before." Sheldon started sobbing, he couldn't control himself anymore. Howard stood there, waiting for him to recover and be able to continue talking. As it didn't happen, he tried to cheer him up.

"Sheldon, she will be fine. Don't worry about that." He remembered his own mom's condition, which was much simpler than that, and all the trouble she put him and Bernie until Stuart started taking care of her. Just for picturing his mom with a tumor he got pale and started shaking, letting a few tears escape.

"Thanks Howard." Sheldon was still trying to wipe away his tears, when he looked at the screen again and with a serious tone he began speaking again. "Could you please help me to tell my Amy I need her here with me? She just won't answer my messages, I can't lose her now."

"I… I didn't tell you yesterday, but she left today Sheldon."

Sheldon's eyes popped out. He felt he was about to faint. "What… What do you mean by _she left_? Where did she go, Howard?" He spoke in a fragile, weak voice.

"She decided to go on a trip a few days ago. I was not sure if she wanted you to know about it. She took the train this morning. Raj was supposed to pick her up at 6 and drop her there."

"And where did she go?"

"She had plans to visit the Grand Canyon, and then she would decide what to do after that. She wanted to experience the same as you, she thought it would be good for her too." Howard was surprised he didn't yell at him when he told the whole truth.

"If only she knew how that 'experience' made me miserable, it didn't help me at all, Howard! I'm lonely, away from all my friends, away from _her_. I need her here with me now more than anything."

"Well, I'll try to call her Sheldon, what do you want me to tell her?"

"Just tell her she needs to call me, it's really important. Don't tell her about my mom yet, I want to talk to her personally. But please be convincing. Could you do that?"

"I guess so, I'll try to call her today and ask her to call you back. I need to go to work now, but I'll let you informed about it. But please be patient, I don't know if she will answer me straight away."

"Fair enough. Thanks a lot Howard, you're a good friend."

"No problem, Sheldon. I'm glad you opened up with me, you're also a good friend."

* * *

"I remember you saying that this trip would be something we could both enjoy. Did you mean that or you were just trying to trick me?"

"Fine, it's true. I deserve romance, and I didn't know what else to make it happen."

"Well, if you want romance, let's have romance!"

Sheldon drank a bit of Amy's wine, stared at her eyes, and suddenly kissed her, moving closer to her. He gripped her hip and deepened the kiss. Amy placed her arms around his neck, and without breaking the kiss Sheldon slowly moved her to the next wagon, where there was a lounge area with a loveseat by the corner. He opened the door and they moved to the seat, where he leaned her down and pinned her, slowly removing her cardigan. She started unbuttoning his shirt, loosening his tie, and she could see his bare chest. He lifted her a little to unzip her dress from behind, lowering it slowly, exposing her bra. He kissed her neck, moving his head to her chest and he unhooked her bra. Amy kissed Sheldon hard, removing his shirt and moving her hand to his belt. She looked at the door to the wagon and saw Eric knocking on it, looking at them through the glass.

"Go away!" She yelled, gesturing with her hands.

He kept on knocking. How inappropriate! Suddenly, she heard a song… And Amy woke up, realizing it was her phone ringing.

"Hello?"

"Amy! Where are you? I've been knocking on your door for almost 15 minutes!"

"RAJ!" Amy yelled, realizing she overslept. "I'll be right there!"

She jumped from bed, straightening her hair and picking up her glasses from the bedside table. She opened the door quickly letting him in.

"Raj, I'm so sorry! I think I was too drunk and I overslept! Please take a sit, I'll be ready in a minute!"

"Ok, Amy, go! We're so late!"

She ran to her bedroom and closed the door. She grabbed the first clothes she could find and got dressed. Luckily her luggage was ready beside her bed. She ran back to the living room, carrying the bags with her. Raj helped Amy and she grabbed her purse on the table and closed the front door.

They were 30 minutes behind schedule. Raj drove really fast through the streets of Glendale, and managed to arrive at the station at 7 am. He picked her bags up from the trunk and helped her until they arrived at the departure area. She kissed and hugged Raj, and he had tears in his eyes.

"We'll all miss you, young lady. Take care, and call us whenever it's possible!"

"I'll miss you all too! Let me take a picture of the two of us, I want to remember this moment before I leave." Amy searched for her phone in her bag, but couldn't find it. "Raaaaaaaaj! I think I left my phone at home! Oh my God! What am I going to do?"

"Oh no! Amy, how could you forget that?"

"I don't know, I think I left it on my bed!"

"Well, do the following, take my iPhone with you, and I'll pick yours at your apartment and we switch them back when you return, that's all we can do now."

"Thanks, Raj! You're so kind! Emily is lucky to have a sweet guy like you." Raj blushed, and hugged his friend once more. She handed him the key to her apartment.

"Thank you Amy, and let's take a picture anyway! I'll tell the guys later that you'll be using my number."

They took a nice picture, showing the length of the train behind them, and both smiled. The picture went straight to Raj's Facebook.

Amy entered in the train, waving goodbye to her Indian friend, and hoped she would enjoy that trip more than ever.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

It was almost 8 am when Raj returned to Amy's apartment to pick up her phone. There were a lot of people he needed to talk to in order to inform about the exchange of numbers. He opened the door and felt really strange about being in someone else's apartment. Her bedroom was a mess, as she had to leave so quickly, and Raj thought it would be nice of him if he organized it for his friend. He started making the bed, where he found her phone tangled in her blankets and slipped it into his pocket. Her nightgown was on the floor, and he folded it and left it on her pillow. It smelled good… Wait, he shouldn't be smelling Amy's clothes. Ever since that girl's night out that they spent time together at the bar, he had a romantic interested in her. But it was a long time ago… But her smell was still nice, and he found himself thinking about her. He entered her bathroom, and he hanged the towel that was left over the sink. He saw her shampoo near the bathtub, and brought it to his nose and took a deep breath. Yes, that was definitely Amy. Wait. What was he thinking? No, that was wrong! He was with Emily now. He remembered the time he was in love with Bernadette. What was the problem with him that he always fell in love with his friends' girlfriends? After spending almost an hour there he realized it was time to leave, as he was already late for work. He didn't notice that her phone ran out of battery.

* * *

Howard tried to call Amy three times that morning. All the calls went to voice mail, so he decided to leave for work and try again later after lunch. She probably didn't want to speak to anybody now, as she had just left for her trip. He was really concerned about delivering Sheldon's message, but he also knew that it was all he could do. He decided to call her again and leave a voice message, and then he texted Sheldon to keep him informed of the progress.

_Tried to call Amy now, but reached her voice mail. I'll try again later. Sorry for that – H_

Sheldon saw the message on his phone, and was not excited by the news. He didn't know what to think, why was Amy avoiding everybody? It was all his fault. _He_ was the one who left her. _He_ messed up with her head. What else could he expect? If only he had built a time machine he would go back and fix all this mess.

Ron left early for work, and Sheldon was waiting for Missy to pick him up. She was going to take him to Meemaw's for lunch and then they would visit his mom again at the hospital. She was late, as usual, and he started killing time on his laptop. That was when he saw that picture on Raj's Facebook profile. _His_ Amy. So beautiful. He wished he was there by her side instead of Koothrappali. She looked a bit different, was it her clothes? Her hair? She looked amazing. He couldn't believe he was able to leave _her_ behind. He wanted her to be there with him. He wanted to be with her always. She looked happy, but he could see her eyes seemed sad, even though she had a beautiful smile on her face. And beside Raj. RAJ! Why did he had to take her to the train station? Couldn't Penny or Leonard do that? Sheldon couldn't help but feel jealous and betrayed. It was not a possibility for Amy to be with anyone else. She was _his_. He told him that on that evening, so what was he doing with _her_? He left a month ago and that Indian bastard was already there getting close to his woman? No, it couldn't be!

"Shelly! Are you crying?"

He didn't notice when Missy arrived. She was standing by the door, her mouth open, in shock. He had always been a crying baby, but she never saw him so sad.

"Missy, what if I have lost her forever?"

"Oh, come here, Silly Shelly." She sat by his side on the couch and hugged her twin. He was sobbing, the tears fell from his eyes and wet her shirt. The more he tried to hold his tears the more they came out. The siblings stood there for almost 30 minutes, until Sheldon was able to control himself. They moved to her car, and they left to Meemaw's house.

* * *

It was 9 am and Amy was on her way to the Grand Canyon. Her head was leaning at the window, while she watched the scenery. She tried to clean the thoughts out her mind, but it was not working. The sound of the train moving through the rails reminded her of that vintage train Sheldon kissed her months ago. She picked up a book from her bag and started reading a bit. She couldn't concentrate on that either. She was putting the book away when she found Raj's phone. She decided to take a few pictures of the scenery and of herself. She didn't mean to peep in his phone, but she couldn't help but see the pictures of Raj and Emily. They were really a cute couple. There was a picture where Raj was holding her so close that their heads and bodies seemed to be one. She never felt Sheldon so close, not even when they kissed. Would they ever be like that? Did she still want to be with him? Of course she did. She thought about him all the time. How could she ever forget him? She put away the phone. That was also not helping her. Instead, she decided to take a quick nap before they arrived at the next station, hoping to have him again in her dreams.

* * *

"Dr. Koothrappali, you're late for our meeting."

"I'm so sorry President Siebert, I had a problem this morning."

He couldn't believe he forgot about their meeting. _'What's wrong with me?' _He thought. He ran to his office and picked up the material needed for the meeting and went straight to Siebert's. After 1 hour the meeting was over, and he went back to his office, when he realized he forgot about Amy's phone. He found it in his pocket, but realized the battery needed recharging. He sat on his desk and started replying a few emails, and after 15 minutes he turned the phone on. He realized she had 7 voice messages to be checked, and he thought if he should listen to them… or would it be too invasive? Well, Amy was his friend, he was doing that just because he wanted to help her, and not because he was curious… To the hell with that, he wanted to listen to the messages.

"You have 7 messages. First message. Amy, I'm sorry for not calling you before. I was really angry with my mom, and I came to Texas. But things here were not as I expected. Amy, I don't want to ask you much, but could you come here and be with me? I need you. I hope you hear this message. Bye."

Raj was not sure about continuing listening to the next messages. But he decided to go on.

"Second message. Amy, why don't you answer my calls? I'm concerned. Could you please call me at least? I understand if you don't want to come to Texas, but please, I need at least to hear your voice… Please Amy, don't do that to me. You're my girlfriend, you need to be here with me. Bye."

Why didn't Amy return his calls? She didn't mention anything about it.

"Third message. Amy, why are you doing this to me? Do you want me to beg you to call me? Ok, I beg you. But please don't leave me, I need you so much. And call me… Amy… please."

Raj almost never heard Sheldon beg in his life. It must be something really serious!

"Fourth message. Amy… I'm really sorry for all I've done to you… For leaving you without saying goodbye… For not treating you like you deserved… You're so wonderful, how could I not see that clear before? I need you, it's really important to me, I need you here. Call me Amy, I would do anything to be with you here. I can't come back now. I also need to be here. Please, don't leave me. Bye."

"Wow! What the hell is going on?"

"Fifth message. Amy. Well… This is my last attempt. I will not bother you anymore. If you need time I'll give you as much time as you need. But I need you to know that… that I… I love you. Sorry to say that over the phone. I wish you were here so I could say that to you in person. I love you so much that I can't live without you anymore. And I can't stand another day here in Texas without you by my side. I need you here Amy. Come meet me. Call me. Please, I beg you once again. Bye."

Raj was in shock. He told Amy he loved her in a phone message? He must be really in trouble.

"Sixth message. Hello Amy, it's me, Howard. Listen, there is something really important that Sheldon has to tell you, it is serious indeed. You know I wouldn't say that if it wasn't. But it happens that it is. You should call him as soon as possible. He is going through a big family issue and he needs you to travel to Texas. Please Amy, he doesn't want me to tell you more, that's all I can say now. But you should really consider that. Well, bye. It's Howard."

"Howard knows? How come he didn't tell me?"

"Seventh message. Amy, it's me again. Sorry, I forgot to tell you, please don't mention anything to Bernie, Sheldon made me promise I would not tell anybody about that, and she would be really mad at me. Please don't mention it also to the other guys. But please, again, call Sheldon. Sorry to bother you. Bye. It's Howard."

All of that information was too overwhelming for Raj. He left his room and ran to Howard's office. He was a very emotive man, and he had tears in his eyes when he opened the door and saw Howard working on a robot prototype.

"Why didn't you tell me? Aren't we friends anymore? Does our friendship mean nothing to you?"

"Raj, what's going on? What are you talking about?"

"Why didn't you tell me about Sheldon? Now Amy's gone and they will not be together!"

"Err… How do you know that? Did Sheldon call you?"

"No, but I have Amy's phone with me and I heard all his messages. And your messages!"

"What? Why the hell are you with Amy's phone?"

"Well... It's a long story. But first you need to tell me what's going on with Sheldon."

"But he made me promise I wouldn't tell anybody… Never mind. I guess I can't hide it from you as you already know it. But don't tell him I told you that."

"All right, I won't, but tell me!"

"His mom is in hospital. He's in Texas now with her. She has a tumor in her stomach, and she will need a surgery to remove it."

"I can't believe it, poor Sheldon! We need to tell Amy that, she doesn't have the slightest clue about it."

"Ok genius, how can we tell her if her phone is with you? And why is her phone with you by the way?"

"She has my phone with her. She was on a hurry when we left to the train station, she woke up late and left her phone at home. She just noticed that a few minutes before she entered in the train, so I gave her my phone."

"Right, that's why I couldn't talk to her this morning. Why did you turn it off?"

"I did not, it was out of battery, but I just realized it here. Hey, do you know Sheldon loves her?"

"Of course he loves her..."

"He not only loves her, he also told her that in one of the messages."

"Really?"

"Do you want to listen to his messages? There are five of them!"

Raj handed the phone to Howard, and they listened to Sheldon's messages again.

"I never thought that Sheldon could be that romantic."

"I always thought Amy deserved romance, and now Sheldon is able to do it. Dude, this is huge! What do we do now, should we call her?"

"Of course! Let's go to the cafeteria and we call her right after lunch."

On their way to the cafeteria, Raj texted his friends informing that he was with Amy's phone and she had his. He also called Emily.

"Just one thing, Raj, we can't tell the guys about this. We have to keep it a secret."

"Ok. I won't tell anybody."

"What are you not going to tell, Raj?"

"Oh, hello Leonard. Nothing, it's just…" Raj stared at Howard, asking for help.

"It's personal stuff, Leonard, you know this kind of uncomfortable sex issues that Raj always shares with me…" Howard blinked at Raj. Then he realized what he just said and regreted it.

"Oh,_ that_ I don't want to know, keep it to yourselves, please."

The guys had lunch quietly. Howard and Raj exchanged a few nervous glances, and Leonard was distracted searching for wedding stuff on his phone.

"You know, I have to be careful, I don't want Penny to spend all the money on decor, we still have so much to buy."

"I already told Penny I can help her with the plans, I know great places for wedding decorations."

"Sure, just make sure she will not spend it all in the first store she sees."

After they finished lunch, the two friends went to Raj's office and called Amy.

"Hey Amy, it's me Howard."

"Hello Howie... Is everything ok?"

"Not really, I need to talk to you." Amy was lying on her seat, still a bit sleepy. She picked up her glasses from her bag and sat down.

"All right. What is it?"

"Please, I need you to listen to me. It's really important. It's about Sheldon."

"What happened, is he ok?" Amy remembered that she never checked his voice messages. She felt guilty and she was starting to sweat, her heart was beating faster.

"Oh, don't worry, nothing happened to him. But he is in Texas now. In fact he has a problem in his family. But he wants to tell you that himself. Could you please call him?"

"Is everything ok with his family? Tell me Howard, what's wrong? If you know it, you have to tell me."

"I'm sorry, I can't do that. But you should call him and hear what he has to say and-" Raj grabbed the phone from Howard's hand. "Amy, listen, he loves you! Call him!"

"Raj? What are you saying? Did he tell you that?"

"No, I'm sorry Amy, I listened to your voice mail. I know I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it, there were SEVEN messages, how could you not listen to them?"

"What do you mean, there were five messages, not seven."

"Yeah, the last two were from Howie. I'm sorry Amy, but I was worried it was important."

"Ok, Raj, I know you didn't mean to peep…" She remembered she also peeped in his phone, but she didn't have to mention it.

"Thank you, Amy, now call him!"

After hanging the call Amy realized what Raj just told her. Sheldon loved her. And he said that in a voice message? Why was she worrying about that detail, he told her he loved her! She had to listen to her messages. She dialed the voice mail number on Raj's phone and retrieved her messages.

First message. Second. Third. On the fourth message Amy had already bursted into tears. Fifth message. Amy couldn't believe her ears. How could he do that to her? _'I love you so much that I can't live without you anymore.'_ These words kept playing in her mind. He begged. Sheldon never begs. It must be really important, she needed to call him right now. She wiped the tears from her face, took a sip of her glass of water and dialed his number.

* * *

"Hey buddy. How are things with you?"

"Hello Leonard. Err… Not much to complain. And you?" Sheldon hesitated a little. He was not feeling comfortable about talking to Leonard yet.

"Fine. I'm calling to tell you that Penny and I decided to anticipate our wedding and I'd like to know if you'll be back by then. We're getting married in September."

"I don't know Leonard, do I need to be there?"

"Of course, you're my best man!"

"Since when? I was not informed beforehand. And in our roommate agreement it's stated that any social invitation regarding support for special occasions needs to be previously noticed by email. I didn't receive any emails regarding this matter."

"Buddy, I'm asking you to be my best man, could you skip this whole formality?"

"All right then. Just email me with the obligations which are expected from my position so then I know how to proceed."

"Ok, buddy, I will."

Sheldon was conflicted about how he should deal with Leonard. He was still mad at him because of their argument on their living arrangements. But he was his best friend. And now his best man. He should probably call him later to apologize.

"Excuse me, Mr. Cooper? I'm sorry to inform you that you will not be able to visit your mother today."

Sheldon started shaking. That sounded like bad news. It seemed he didn't cry enough that morning, because the tears were coming to his eyes again. Missy saw her brother when she was arriving from the hall. She had a cup of coffee in her hand, as she had been at the cafeteria with Meemaw. She ran to her brother and held him tight.

"Sorry, what? Why?"

"She had a crisis a few minutes ago and we needed to sedate her, so she'll be asleep for the rest of the day."

"Wait, a crisis? What kind of crisis, is she ok?" Missy was concerned. Sheldon couldn't speak anymore in shock.

"She had just finished a biopsy. It's under control now, but she'll need to be under observation and she won't be able to receive visitors today."

"Thank you." She put the cup of coffee on a table, took Sheldon to a seat and hugged her brother. "Shelly, she'll be fine, don't worry."

"Missy, why does everything need to be so hard lately? Can't Mom just be fine again and go home?"

"Shelly, aren't you a doctor? You know how these things are, we need to be patient, Mom will be back home soon. Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Yes, please."

She left Sheldon and went back to the cafeteria to grab a cup of tea for him. Sheldon was curved on his seat, with his head among his crossed arms lying over his knees. He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He really hoped it was Amy. For his disappointment, he saw Raj's number on his screen. He cleaned his throat, but his voice still sounded like he was crying.

"It's really not a good time Raj, could you return your call later?"

"Sheldon, it's me."

"Amy?" He couldn't believe she called him. He was so happy that he stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'm so glad you called! But wait, why are you using Raj's number?"

"Well, it's a long story… Howard told me you needed to speak to me. I'm sorry Sheldon, I didn't check your voice messages until a few minutes ago. I shouldn't have done that, I'm really sorry."

"Oh, that's ok Amy, I'm just happy you called me back! There's something I need to tell you."

"Wait, before that, I also need to tell you something." She hesitated a little, but she knew she didn't have to be worried. She could tell him. "I love you too."

"Oh, Amy, I love you! I wanted to tell you that when you arrived here, but I couldn't hold it anymore. I needed you to know that. I was so stupid not telling you that before. I'm sorry again for being… me."

She couldn't help the smile on her face.

"Don't worry, Sheldon. I'm with you, I'll never leave you. But tell me, what do you need to talk to me about?"

"Amy, I need you to come to Texas as soon as possible. Could you do that?"

"I guess so, but why?"

"It's… My mom. She's… sick. I came to Texas because I was mad at her, she moved in with her boyfriend and didn't teld me, but when I arrived Missy told me she had a stomach tumor and she's been in hospital for the last 2 weeks."

"Oh my God, Sheldon, of course I'm going to be there with you. I just need to see how I can manage to take a plane…"

"Where are you? Howard told me you were on a train to the Grand Canyon. Why didn't you tell me you were traveling? I asked you so much to tell me your plans, I can't believe you didn't tell me."

"I needed space, Sheldon. But it doesn't matter anymore now. I need to be with you as soon as possible. I'll figure out the best way to arrive there and I'll let you know, ok?"

"Ok. Thank you Amy, I'm so relieved I could speak to you again. Don't do that to me ever again, please."

"I won't, I promise. I'll call you later."

"All right, talk to you later. I love you."

Amy was not used to that yet. She couldn't help but reply. "I love you too."

* * *

**Author's notes:** Long emotional chapter. I hope you enjoyed it!

Please leave your comments! I really would like to know your opinion on how the story is developing.

And thanks for the messages, I loved reading them!

=)


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

After 30 minutes, Amy left in the next train station, where she bought a ticket to Las Vegas. Before leaving the train, she did a quick research in her notebook and found a 3-hour flight on Wednesday afternoon. With her trip set, she would have to wait for the other train to arrive in 2 hours. She called Sheldon to arrange the details and to see if they would pick her up at the airport or if it would be better to rent a car. She was really anxious to see him again.

"Hi Sheldon!"

"Hello Amy, did you manage to book a flight?" he asked her, really excited about an affirmative answer.

"Yes, I'll have to go to Vegas though, but I've just changed my train tickets and I'm waiting for the train now." She was in the departure area, holding her purse tight to her chest as she spoke to him. She wanted to hug him, to comfort him.

"And what time do I pick you up tomorrow?"

"I'll be there by 6 pm, but you don't have to bother to pick me up, I can rent a car and drive to Galveston. It will be more-" before she could complete her sentence, Sheldon cut her with a loud tone.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT! I'll get a ride with my sister or with Ron and we'll pick you up!" He realized he was shouting, and he calmed his voice down. "I just can't spend a minute more away from you…" he completed shyly.

"Oh, Sheldon! That's so sweet. I can't wait to see you too."

Amy didn't know but he really meant that. During the last days he wouldn't stop thinking about her, he was desperate to see her, to touch her, to feel her. He called Ron and asked him to go to Houston with him and pick her up at 6 pm the next day. He was still sitting in the waiting room when he saw his sister and Meemaw arriving through the hall.

"Here, Shelly, your tea."

"Thank you. So, any news from Mom?"

"I asked at the reception if we could speak to Dr. Millard, and they told me she would come to talk to us here any minute."

"Good. Meemaw, you look tired, are you ok?" Sheldon and Missy stared at her.

"I'm fine, Moonpie. I just need to go home and take some rest. Don't y'all worry about me."

Sheldon took a sip of his tea, holding Meemaw's hand. Missy was talking to her husband to check on her baby, when a woman approached them.

"Family of Ms. Cooper?"

They stood up and Missy gave them a hold on sign with her hand. "Yes, Ma'am, I'm her son, how's she?"

Dr. Millard was a short, blond woman in her fifties, with a comforting smile and big blue eyes. "She is resting. She woke up near the end of her biopsy and her blood pressure increased."

"Dear Lord, how could that happen?" Sheldon asked angrily to the doctor, when Meemaw put her hand on his shoulder and asked him to calm down. "Sorry, Dr. Millard, please be kind to continue" she said.

"Well, now the situation is under control, but she needs to be under observation for the next 2 days. We were able to finish her test tough, and soon we'll have the results and we can set the date for the surgery."

After giving them a few more details, Dr. Millard left and Missy joined them again, wanting for details of her mom's health. The three of them left the hospital and went to Meemaw's house for dinner. George and Ron were joining them later.

* * *

"You should definitely go with Persian green and Lavender." Raj said with his expert voice.

"And which colors should I choose for the bridesmaids dresses? I really like pink, but I'm not sure…"

"No, definitely pink is not the option! You should choose a smoother color. You don't want them to shine more than you, do you?"

"Nobody will shine more than me, sweetie" she blinked her eye to Raj.

"Not even me?" Emily asked, teasing him.

"Of course, my ginger spice! But just for me." Raj gave her a peck.

They finished looking at the palettes when Bernie and Howie arrived at 4A. Leonard brought the food and the gang got together for dinner as usual. Tuesday was Cheesecake factory night, but as Sheldon was not there anymore, they were eating Chinese food.

"So, aren't you going to tell us why you decided to anticipate the wedding?" Bernie couldn't hide her curiosity.

"We wanted to get married at the Maxwell House, but they didn't have any dates available for the end of the year." Leonard was looking down, with a serious face. Then he looked up and smiled. "But 3 days ago they called us to inform of a cancelling and we could have that date for the wedding, but it was on September 20. Isn't that great?" Leonard seemed really excited about marrying Penny.

"Yeah, sweetie, it's great but that means I'm screwed" Penny drank a sip of her wine. "I don't know how I'll manage to choose all that wedding stuff in time!"

"It'll be fine, Penny, you have the perfect event consultant at your disposal!" Raj smiled proudly.

"Yeah, my mother always thought I was a lesbian, now I can tell her she was right. My boyfriend is the perfect maid of honor!" Emily giggled teasing him.

"Now that Amy is with Sheldon someone's got to do her job!" Raj looked at Howard. "By the way, any news from them?"

"No, not at all!" He gave Raj an angry look.

"But-"

"I told you, not at all, why are you insisting on that?"

Everybody looked at Howard. Bernie knew already something was wrong. "All right, what are you hiding from me, Mr. Smarty Pants? Spill!"

"I'm sorry, Bernie, I promised them I wouldn't tell. I can't even tell you."

"And how come that Raj knows?"

Raj regretted being such a blabbermouth. He didn't want to reveal their secret, so he decided to help Howard. He stood up with his food in one hand and gesticulated with his chopsticks as if he was a maestro. "I apologize. I am the one to blame. Howard is only being a loyal friend to Sheldon. And as we are all adults, we will truly respect the couple and wait for them to tell everyone. Just give them time." Raj said in a really serious tone, finishing his act. "Now let's eat, I'm hungry!"

After that, the gang continued to eat quietly, and nobody asked any further questions. But as usual, Penny was curious as hell! How come didn't Amy tell her anything? She was her bestie! She turned to Leonard and asked him in his ear. "Did Sheldon tell you what's going on?"

"No!" he whispered. "I have no idea. I called him after lunch but he didn't mention anything!" Penny turned to her food and continued eating. Soon the subject changed again and they spent the rest of the evening discussing the wedding preparations.

* * *

"The universe is full of challenges and all sort of things for geniuses like us to discover and explore." Sheldon's eyes were sparkling as he described his love for physics. "The earlier you start diving in the ocean of knowledge the better! I recognize this look in your eyes, you want me to start tutoring you right now! It was there, in Ancient Greece, that our story began. It was a warm summer evening…"

"Shelly, stop lecturing my baby! He's too young for that." Missy picked little Michael up from Sheldon's lap.

"But he needs to start getting into physics if he wants to have a PhD before his twenties!"

"No, he needs to be fed… and a dipper change."

Sheldon felt the smell of his dirty dipper and was happy that she took him off his lap. He was disgusted that he didn't have a clean pair of pants to change. George Jr. laughed at him, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"Want to get rid of these pants, uh? You'll get used to that when you have yours."

"Mine what?"

"Your own babies! What else could that be? And you consider yourself a genius?"

_My own babies! Is George out of his mind?_ He didn't know if Amy still wanted to have a baby with him, after all he said to her before he left. He mocked her about having a house, children, growing old together watching the sunset… Now that was all he wanted for his life.

"Well, I haven't thought about it yet."

"And don't you think Amy wants that? Girls always want that, Shelly, there's no way out. One day you think the sex with her is great and that's all you want for the rest of your life, the other day she's with your baby and you are so busy changing dippers and preparing bottles that if you get sex once a month you're a lucky guy!" George looked down, staring at the floor, lost in his thoughts.

"Well… I don't know what to respond to that." But George was not paying attention to Sheldon anymore. He stood up and looked for his Meemaw, who was talking to Ron outside in the front porch.

"Come sit with us, Moonpie" she smiled at him.

"In fact I think I'd like a hot beverage, care for a cup of tea?"

He went to the kitchen and started filling the kettle with water when his phone rang. He still was not used to seeing Raj's picture appear on the screen when Amy called. He smiled with the simple thought of speaking to his significant other.

"Hello Amy, what a nice surprise!"

"Hi Sheldon. Are you busy now?"

"I'm never busy for you."

"Really?" Amy smiled. He could see the smile on her face just by the change in her tone of voice" "I didn't want to wait to speak to you just tomorrow. I miss you."

"I'm so glad you called. I can't wait to see you tomorrow. I miss you too. Where are you now?"

"I'm on the train to Vegas. I'll stop in the next station in 15 minutes, but it's late and I didn't want to be on my own."

"I'm at Meemaw's house, but I must confess I'm kind of bored. I wish you were here with me."

"Would you like to play Counterfactuals?"

"I'd love to!"

He sat by the kitchen table and played for almost an hour. It was so easy to be with Amy, time passed so fast and he wouldn't mind doing that all night long. He wouldn't mind doing that for the rest of his life. He could see them growing old together watching the sunset in a big house. They should definitely move in together. That would be a nice start. Maybe he could ask her that later, after his mom got better.

It was getting late and Ron came to the kitchen to tell Sheldon they needed to go home. He said goodbye to Amy and left with him, saying goodbye to his family and giving little Michael a kiss on his forehead.

"So, can't wait to see your girl tomorrow?"

"Yes. I'm looking forward to seeing Amy. It's been a month since I left and I wish I had never left her."

"I know the feeling. I can't wait to have Mary back home."

Sheldon sighed. He was suffering already too much with his Mom being in hospital. He couldn't imagine how much he would suffer if it was Amy instead. He got lost in his thoughts and spend the rest of the way staring at the window.

When they arrived home he received a call from Missy.

"Shelly, listen to me. We need to go back to the hospital right now. Mom got worse."

* * *

The train arrived late at the station in Vegas, and Amy had to take a cab quickly to the airport to dispatch her bags and get into the plane. She got there just a few minutes before the end of the check in, and ran to the departure area. She was so nervous that she forgot to call Sheldon, so she just texted him shortly before the plane took off. After landing, Amy picked up her bags in the baggage claim area and headed to the exit. She couldn't wait to meet Sheldon, after so long. But she didn't see him. Was he late? Weird. Sheldon is never late. She tried to call him, but it went straight to voice mail. What happened?

She waited for a few minutes, and remembered that Penny could have Missy's phone number. She called her bestie, but she knew that she couldn't tell her about it, following Sheldon' request.

"Hi bestie"

"Ames! How are you? And where are you?"

"I'm… still traveling. Enjoying the view. Hey, do you have Missy's phone number?"

"Enjoying the view? Well, I do, just a sec." She searched the number in her contact list and sent it to… Raj's number. "Well, there it is. Why do you need it?"

"Well, nothing… I… just wanted to see if… she could help me with… something."

"Ok, so you tell me later, right?"

"Sure, bestie, I'll tell you later. I need to go, see ya."

Amy called Missy, and was relieved she answered.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Hi Missy, this is Amy speaking."

"Amy? Oh my God, Shelly forgot to pick you up at the airport! I'm so sorry, he was supposed to drive to Houston with Ron to meet you there, but our mom got worse last night and we've been at the hospital ever since!"

"Oh my God, is Mrs. Cooper o-ok? What… what happened?" Amy was shaking, her voice trembling.

"The doctor told us this morning that she needed to go into surgery today, and they are still with her in the surgery room. Sheldon is a mess. Could you manage to come? I'll tell him you'll be here, he needs you Amy."

"S-sure, I'll be there. Just give me the address and I'll be there as soon as I can!"

Amy was so nervous that she couldn't find the car rental. After searching for a while, she asked an airport employee to help her, and she managed to rent a car.

She found it at the parking lot, placed her bags in the trunk, turned the GPS on and drove straight to the hospital. She was still nervous, but she needed to be calm for Sheldon. He needed her more than ever.

After one hour and a half she parked the car at the hospital and went to the reception. After asking about where to find Mrs. Cooper's family, she walked through the hall, when she saw a cafeteria. She stopped to get a cup of chamomile tea. She took the elevator and found the waiting room where Sheldon was with the members of his family. He was curved on his knees, with his head down and his forehead on his crossed arms.

"Would you like some tea?" He looked up, and saw Amy standing in front of him, handing him a cup of tea which smelled like chamomile.

"Amy!" He didn't say anything else. He stood up and gave her a desperate, tight hug. He was sobbing, and with her free hand she caressed his nape.

"It's going to be fine, Sheldon, don't worry" She whispered in his ear, still holding him. His head was on her shoulder, tangled in her hair. She laid her head on his chest, and their bodies moved slowly, as if they were dancing a lullaby.

They stood there for almost ten minutes, just holding each other tight, until they felt a warm hand in their arms.

"Aren't you going to introduce your girlfriend to your family, Moonpie?"

He slowly leaned his head up and looked at Amy. He missed her so much, he still couldn't believe she was there with him.

"I'm so sorry I didn't pick you up at the airport. I just got lost in time… I didn't realize my phone ran out of battery."

"Don't worry, Sheldon, Missy told me what happened."

"Amy, this is Meemaw." She looked at the old lady, who had beautiful blue eyes, just like Sheldon's. "Hello dear. I'm so glad to finally meet Moonpie's lovely girl." Amy hugged her and received a kiss on the cheek, which she was not expecting.

After Meemaw released her from the hug, he introduced her to Missy.

"Hi Amy, it's a pleasure to finally meet the woman who stole my brother's heart." She also received a hug, and was really surprised to see how warm Sheldon's family was.

"And this is George Jr, his wife Meg and their son, Phillip."

"So this is the famous Dr. Fowler!" George held Amy's hand and kissed her knuckles.

"And this is Ron, my mom's boyfriend."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"Call me Ron. Good to meet you, Amy. Sheldon talks about you all the time." She blushed at Ron's comment, wondering if he really meant that.

"Well, now that everyone is introduced, could you excuse us." Sheldon held Amy's hand and they walked through the hall. They stopped in front of the elevator and as they waited for it, he hugged her tight again. That was when he realized she was still holding the cup of tea.

"Is that for me?"

"Oh, yes, I even forgot about it. I thought you needed it."

"I really do, thank you."

He took a sip of it and they entered in the elevator.

"Where are we going?"

"Out of here, at least for a while."

Sheldon took Amy to the exit door and there was a small yard outside, where they found a bench and sat together.

"How is your mom?"

"She's still in the surgery room. I believe she'll be there for at least two more hours, according to the nurse."

"She will be ok, Sheldon."

Sheldon finished his tea and threw the cup in the bin right beside the bench. He sat back and grabbed Amy's hand, staring at her eyes.

"You're so beautiful. Have I ever told you how much I love your eyes?" She stared at him, surprised. But before she could reply, he raised his index finger and touched her lips, silencing her. "Don't say anything. I know I've never said that to you. And that was so wrong of me." He moved his hand to cup her cheek, and he leaned his head towards hers and planted a warm kiss on her lips. She kissed him back and placed her right hand on his nape, caressing him. He moved his hand slowly to her shoulder, and then to her waist, and pulled her closer to him, deepening the kiss.

After a few minutes, they pulled back, breathing heavily. He stared at her eyes, smiling. "I missed you so much, I don't know how I could spend all this time without you next to me." He held both of her hands, squeezing them, and he moved them to his waist, and he moved his to her back, and held her tight, with his head on her shoulder. Turning his head a bit, he spoke softly in her ear, "I love you, Amy Farrah Fowler." She also turned to his ear and replied "I love you too, Sheldon Lee Cooper." Together, they were Amy and Sheldon. No "doctor" needed. They were truly themselves. He thought about that silly name their friends called them, Shamy. It was so silly, but he realized that it described them as they really are. They are one. They couldn't be apart. Holding her so close, he could feel that's how they should always be. He felt safe with her. He felt he could be himself.

"Amy?"

"Yes, Sheldon?"

"Can I lay down on your lap?"

"Of course you can. Anything you want."

"Thank you." And he lay down, with his head on Amy's lap, while she started to caress his hair. Within minutes he fell asleep. They stood there for almost one hour, when Amy saw Missy coming in their direction. She put her hand on Sheldon's shoulder, giving him a little shake to wake him up.

"Shelly, the surgery is over, please come to meet us, Dr. Millard will be there soon to tell us how mom is."

Sheldon opened his eyes slowly, after the great nap he had on Amy's lap. He sat back and after brushing his eyes with his fingers, he put his arm around Amy's waist and they followed Missy back to the hospital. When they arrived at the waiting room, Dr. Millard was already there, talking to the family. Meemaw was crying and George was hugging her. Ron sat down shaking his head to both sides, his hands on his hair, elbows on his knees.

They ran in the direction of Dr. Millard, and Missy asked her what was going on with her mother.

"Missy, I'm sorry to inform you that Mrs. Cooper is in a coma. Her surgery was successful, we performed an endoscopic resection and cut out the tumor. But she didn't wake up from the anesthesia, and we took her to the ICU. She will have to stay there for a while, we don't know yet when she will wake up. You have to be patient. Please go home now, you've been here since yesterday, you all need to rest, especially your grandmother, take her home and we'll call you tomorrow or as soon as we have any news."

Missy, Sheldon and Amy listened to the doctor's words in shock. They didn't react. Dr. Millard left them and Missy held Sheldon tight. Amy saw Ron sitting by himself and sat by his side. He looked up at her and she patted his back.

"Don't worry, she will be fine. The surgery was successful and she will be back from the coma soon, you'll see."

"Thank you Amy, I really want to believe that."

Sheldon looked up for Amy, and saw her sitting beside Ron. Holding Missy with him, they walked in their direction. Missy sat beside Ron and hugged him. Amy looked up at Sheldon, as he offered his hand, and stood up to hug him too.

"Amy, can you take me home?"

"Of course, Sheldon. Let's go."

He thought he would burst into tears when he heard the news from his mom. But he didn't. Amy was there and he felt stronger. Amy made him braver. He just needed to be with her. Alone. Now. He held her waist and they moved to the parking lot. They entered in the car. Sitting by her side, he looked at her, leaned his head and kissed her softly. "Please Amy, stay with me tonight. I need you."

* * *

**Author's note:** It took me a while to write this chapter. I had to change a few things in the story. It's funny the way we have to adapt things because other things happened. It's like the story has its own soul and guides me, instead of I guiding the story.

As I always say, I really hope you enjoy this chapter. I couldn't write it for days, I was a little depressed lately and I needed to be in a better mood to be strong enough to continue this story.

Thank you for following this story! And for your comments! They make my day! =)

I don't own these characters!


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's notes:** Warning: 'M content' below!

Thanks for the reviews, and I hope you like this chapter. It's a little shorter than usual, but all Shamy. =)

Keep reading and let me know what you thought about it.

I own nothing.

* * *

_"__Please Amy, be with me tonight. I need you."_

Those words kept playing in her head. Did he really say that? Since she arrived in Galveston she met a different Sheldon. The way he held her, their sweet conversation in the yard, how he trusted her, the way he declared his love for her… It was all too much for her. Amy wanted to be strong for him, to be firm, but she couldn't help but start crying.

"Oh, no! Amy, I'm sorry, what have I done?" He stared at her with his eyes opened wide and gloomy. "Please don't cry."

She was looking down. She tried, but words wouldn't come out. She had a waterfall of tears dropping from her eyes. She felt his hand on hers. He moved his hand to her chin, turning her face to him. "Amy." He offered her a box of tissues from his bag, and she murmured a 'thank you' and started cleaning all the mess of tears and blew her nose. After a while, feeling relieved, she turned to him and could speak again.

"I'm so-sorry Sheldon. I-I guess it was just too much for me at once."

"I understand. Sorry, Amy, for making you come here with all these problems, I-" She interrupted him by kissing his lips softly.

"Don't say that. I'm really glad that I came. I want to be here with you. It's just that you've never been this open with me about your feelings, it's all so new to me…" He kissed her again, moving his hands to her shoulders and then to her neck, caressing her nape slowly.

"Amy." He broke the kiss and kept his forehead in hers. "I should have told you those things a long time ago. I just couldn't see it all before as clear as I see them now. I'm not afraid of sharing my feelings with you anymore." As he spoke those words their eyes were fixed on each other, a connection they've never felt before. It was so intense they could see deep inside each other. "Amy, I love you."

"I love you too. I love you so much. I've always had." He cupped her cheeks and pressed his lips against hers. They closed their eyes. After a while their mouths started moving slowly. Sheldon wanted to touch her so badly. All over her. His fingers touched slightly her cheeks, and he removed a strand of hair from her face to behind her ear. He slowly twisted his finger in her hair, curling it, when he let it go and touched her shoulder, making small circles with his palm. Amy's hand slowly fondled his knee, moving little by little to his thigh. Her other hand still held the crumpled tissue. She didn't know what else to do with her hand, then she broke the kiss and stared at Sheldon.

"Sheldon, I think we should take it slow."

He blushed, feeling sorry for being too forward. He removed his hands from her and looked down. "Sorry, Amy, I don't know what's happening to me. I just can't stop touching you."

Her face turned red with his honesty. She never thought Sheldon would say that to her. He barely touched her since they first met. She always craved for intimacy, but she had no experience in that area and she was surprised about how uncomfortable she also felt about touching him. She took a deep breath, straightened herself on the car seat.

"Sorry, I'm just not used to it, I need time, Sheldon. It's not that I don't want it, because I do." She smiled at him. He smiled back, also composing himself, and fastening the seatbelt.

"That's ok, Amy. I promise to take things slow." He reached her hand and squeezed it a bit. "Let's go now, we're both tired. I'll show you the way."

They left the hospital and Amy drove to his mother's house. When they arrived there, Sheldon helped her with her bags and took them upstairs. Amy followed him.

"Amy, would you mind sharing the bedroom with me? I promise we'll just sleep. No coitus."

She opened a wide smile. "Of course, I'd love that." She giggled a little with the idea of him mentioning coitus. They entered in his old bedroom and he showed her the bathroom so she could take a shower and relax.

While she was in the shower, he pushed the second bed onto the other one, forming a double bed. After finishing all preparations, he went downstairs to find something for them to eat. He realized he hadn't eaten all day, and Amy would probably be hungry as well. He started making grilled cheese sandwiches and eggs and poured them a glass of low pulp orange juice. He heard Amy coming downstairs and turned to see her. She was wearing her nightgown and a robe. It was a warm night, and he noticed she was feeling uncomfortable with all those clothes.

"Why don't you leave this robe out, we're alone here and it's a pretty warm night."

"But what if Ron arrives?"

"I'm pretty sure he won't mind, he's a nice man, you don't have to worry about him."

She still seemed insecure. She slowly took it off, hanging it on a chair. She was not wearing her regular long nightgown. Instead it was a red long sleeved nightgown, but it reached her knees. The neckline was a little lower than she used to wear, and he could see her collarbone, and she left opened the first button. Sheldon looked at her from head to toes, and moving around her, he kissed her head and pointed to a chair.

"Please take a seat, I'll start serving you dinner."

"It smells great, thanks for that!" She smiled at him. Sheldon served them and they started eating quietly, exchanging glances. After they finished eating, she collected the dishes. "Leave the dishes on me, I know you also need a shower."

"Thank you, Amy. I'm going upstairs so. Do you need anything before I go?"

"No, thank you, I'm fine. I'll just clean up the kitchen and then I'll go to bed."

He stood up and planted a kiss on her forehead, moving slowly to her cheek, kissing her jaw line, reaching her mouth. He gave her a long and soft kiss, and went upstairs.

* * *

She couldn't choose a side of the bed… Where would Sheldon prefer to sleep? After a while pondering on that, she decided to sleep opposite the door. The old bed was comfortable, but made a few noises when she lay down. She adjusted the pillow, pulled the sheets to her chest and turned to the door, waiting for Sheldon. She had never shared a bed before. It was so new to her. What if he snored? That's ridiculous, was that the problem? Obviously not. She was afraid of freaking out if he tried anything that night. What if he tried to remove her nightgown? Would he be disappointed with her body? Would he say anything? And if he removed her clothes, would she need to remove his as well? Or not? Would he let her touch him? So many variables for such a simple thing as sharing a bed.

She tried to clear her mind by staring at the pictures on the wall. Behind the door there was a train shaped wooden plaque with Sheldon's name in it. She smiled at the images from his childhood. Well, he was still thar child, with all his love for trains. On the other side of the room, next to a frame with pictures of the siblings, an old Star Wars poster with Darth Vader. No one could deny this was Sheldon's room. Maybe she should have a closer look at those pictures. Before she could move the door opened, and dressed in a T-shirt and pajama pants he entered the room. He wanted to ask Amy something to make her feel comfortable about them sleeping together._ 'Still awake?'_ No, no need for stating the obvious.

"Couldn't sleep yet?" Still obvious. He couldn't think of anything better to say. He has never been good at small talk.

"Yeah… I'm pretty tired, but I think I'm getting used to the room and the temperature. It's really hot inside."

"I know what you mean, Texas can be hell during summer." He sat on the border of the bed, trying not to look too much at her.

"Are you used to sleeping without your regular daily pajamas?"

"I am, but I still miss the clean daily pajamas." He looked at her. "And you, why did you change your regular nightgown?"

Of course he would notice that. She just didn't expect him to _ask_ about it.

"Err… I bought a few clothes before I traveled, and also new sleepwear. I just didn't want to wear my old grandma's clothes anymore."

He felt really shy but still wanted to compliment her. He wanted to make up for the time he never said anything nice about her appearance. "Good. I liked it, you look very beautiful in it."

Amy's face and neck became red. Sheldon was now complimenting her? Twice in a day? She smiled, though. "Thank you."

At that moment his phone vibrated and he saw a message from Missy.

_Ron will be spending the night at the hospital with Mom. Call me if you need anything. Sweet dreams – M _

The idea of spending the night alone with Amy in the house gave Sheldon goosebumps. "Amy, apparently we are spending the night alone. Ron will stay at the hospital."

_'__Uh-oh'_ Amy thought. What did he mean by that? Would he try something? Deep down she wanted him to do so. Maybe if she changed the topic it wouldn't be so awkward.

"And any news from your mother?" '_Ok, that was not a good one'_ she thought. _'Great way to kill the mood.'_

"No, I guess it will take time until she wakes up from her coma." Sheldon said in awe. Even though he was relieved to be there with Amy, he was apprehensive about his mother's situation.

"She will be fine, Sheldon." She tried to cheer him up. "I'm here with you, if you need anything you can count on me, ok?"

"Thank you Amy, you don't know how much I appreciate that you came to Texas to be with me." He lay on the bed on his side, facing her. "I'm so lucky to have you as my girlfriend."

She turned to face him. Looking deep inside his blue eyes, she smiled, noticing a teardrop falling from his eye. She moved her hand to clean it from his cheek, and when she did that he turned his face a little and kissed her palm, still staring at her. He closed his eyes, and placed his hand on hers, fondling her arm and reached her mouth in a long, warm kiss. Her lips parted, and he slowly met her tongue with his. His body moved closer to hers, their legs met, and he started caressing her calf with his toes. He gradually slipped his hand to her waist, and then to her thigh, reaching the beam of her nightgown. He moved his hand back, lifting the fabric up, until he could feel the skin of her waist. He touched her with the tips of his fingers, as if she was made of the most delicate material. He could feel her soft skin, it was so smooth and warm. He was so aroused.

Amy felt his hand on her skin. She shivered. _'Hoo'_ she thought, but wouldn't dare to let it out. She couldn't even explain the sensation, it was like heaven, if such thing existed. Her hand was still placed on his shoulder, she wondered if she would have the courage to move it, mirroring his movements. She slid her hand to his arm, slowly caressing his skin. It was amazing. His arms were not strong, but they were firm enough. She was relieved that she could manage to touch him like that. It was awesome. She took courage to continue her explorations and moved her hand to his chest, touching him over his shirt. Who would think that she would finally be able to do that one day? That Sheldon would let her touch him like that, so close, in such intimate way? Sheldon slowly moved his hand to her stomach. She was so concerned about her non-athletic belly that she flinched at his touch. He looked at her confused. "Sorry, did I do anything wrong? Was I too forward?"

"No, not at all" she answered quickly. "I'm just... not so confident with my body…" She looked away, blushing.

"But why? I don't understand."

"Sheldon, you know I'm no model" her face turned red, she felt so ashamed of herself she couldn't look at him anymore. She turned to the other side, sinking her head in the pillow.

He moved closer, hugging her from behind. "Amy, look at me." He took away the hair from her face.

"I can't." She shook her head. One of the reasons she was so afraid of intimacy was because of her insecurity regarding her own body.

"Why would you need to be a model? You're a neurobiologist. You don't need another profession." Sheldon was confused. He didn't understand why she suddenly stopped what they were doing. Wasn't she liking it?

Why did he always have to take things so literally? "Sheldon, I'm afraid you're not going to like... what you'll see."

"Amy, there isn't a single thing about you that I don't like. I like all of you. I love you." His hand was resting on her waist, and started slowly moving up and down. "You're just perfect the way you are. I told you already you are so beautiful. If you want me to I can say that again. Amy Farrah Fowler, you're beautiful."

She turned again to his side, and now they were even closer than before. She kissed him tenderly, cupping his cheek. Her hand slid to his hair, and she gave little kisses on his cheek, moving to his neck, while her hand fondled his back. Sheldon gently moved his hand up, touching the side of her breast. She swallowed, feeling her whole body thrill. She had never experienced that before. He slowly moved his body down, cupping her breast and kissed her nipple, sucking it slightly. When he turned to her other breast, he spun her to her back, positioning his body on the top of her. While he kissed and caressed her nipple, his free hand slid to her waist, slowly moving under her panties. Her heart skipped a beat when she felt his fingers touching her folds. It was so amazing that she didn't want him to stop, even though she didn't know if she was ready for coitus. He kissed her stomach, moving down to her navel, and with both hands he took out her panties. Without stopping, he kissed her thigh and spread her legs, watching her girl parts amazed. He couldn't help but touch her. He was on his knees, the bed making strange noises, but he didn't even notice. He was hypnotized by her. He wanted to explore this new territory, he wanted to know every single piece of her. Lying beside her, he kissed her deeply, while he let his hand find out the ways to pleasure her. Moving his finger through her wetness, he found a spot that made her body shake a little._ 'Interesting.' _He touched her there again, same reaction. He moved his finger down and up again, slowly, until he hit that spot once more. Her body shook harder. He decided to play with that, watching her react to his touch, delighted. He started kissing her neck while he kept rubbing her clit, feeling her entire body shiver and move with his touch. "How do you feel?"

She could barely speak. All she was able to murmur was "Don't stop!"

He grinned, feeling so happy for being able to please her. _'I do excel in everything.' _He was still Sheldon, anyway. He kissed her nipple again, and she arched her body, feeling the highest pleasure she had ever felt in her whole life. When she climaxed, she held her breath, turning her head to both sides, her body rigid and her hand grabbing his arm. "Please stop!" That was all she could say. And she slowly let her breath out, relaxing her whole body and turning her head to kiss him deeply.

After a few minutes, they were cuddling, and he was caressing her arm.

"Amy, I know you wanted to take things slow. Do you wish to continue? If you want to stop I understand."

She was so overwhelmed with everything that just happened that she didn't know what to think. A part of her wanted to finish it, another was insecure if she would be able to do it. Maybe they should stop now. But she knew it wouldn't be fair to him. He pleasured her in an amazing way and he deserved to be pleasured as well. She looked deep in his eyes and could see he wanted her badly. She also wanted him. "I want to, but I'm scared." She confessed.

"That's ok, Amy, I know it's all new for you, as it is new for me as well. I want us to feel comfortable with each other, there's no need to rush." He kissed her, assuring her that she could trust him.

"Maybe we can continue a little bit… But if I ask you to stop would you do that?"

"Of course. Just signalize when and we stop."

"Thank you for understanding me." And their tongues met again in a fully passionate kiss. He finished removing her nightgown, throwing it to the foot of the bed, and she started removing his T-shirt. He sat up and let her take it off from his head, and then they started to work on his pants. She started removing it slowly, and he grabbed his pants and underpants and took them off at once, kicking them out as well. They both sat up, staring at each other, admiring their naked bodies. She blushed at the sight of his erection, but she kept looking at him. He found her shyness amusing, he grinned at her and touched her bare legs, massaging her. As they kissed again, they slowly lowered themselves, until they were lying down with him on the top of her. He positioned himself between her legs, and she felt his erection throbbing on her wetness. They stared at each other, smiling, both breathing heavily. He swallowed, reaching her mouth for a kiss, as he slowly started grinding his body on hers. She caressed his back, moving her hips together with his.

As he couldn't handle that anymore, he broke the kiss. "Amy, I think this is the time when I have to put on a condom. Do you wish to proceed?"

She swallowed, her body shaking a little, excited and frightened at the same time. "I do."

"If you want to stop it you can still do it, ok? Just let me know."

She nodded. He rolled his body to the right, opening the drawer of the nightstand, and picked a condom from a box. He sat up and looked at her, showing it. "I bought it at the hospital's drugstore. I was so happy when you said you were coming here that I felt it could be the moment for us to get closer."

She beamed with his confession. "I'm glad you thought of that."

He quickly read the instructions on the back of the package, opened it and rolled the condom down. He placed the package on the nightstand, lay down again and returned to his position over her. They stared at each other while he rubbed her wetness, finding her entrance. He slowly entered inside of her. She closed her eyes tightly, holding his wrist firmly, until he was completely inside of her. He kissed her cheeks and her mouth, and she relaxed her body again and he started thrusting inside of her. Her eyes opened again and they gazed at each other, as they got closer to their climax. Sheldon kissed her lips, moving faster now, as she moved together with him. As they reached orgasm, he relaxed his body over hers. Propped on his elbows, he placed both hands on her head, caressing her hair, while he kissed her mouth passionately. They were both breathing heavily, as the wave of pleasure flooded their bodies. He laid his head on her chest, with his arms under her shoulders, until his heart beat in a regular pace again.

"Amy" He looked at her again and smiled. "This was amazing. I never thought that coitus felt like that."

"Me neither. I love you, Sheldon."

"I love you too." He never thought he could mean so much with such a short sentence.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's notes:** Hey guys, sorry for the delay in updating this story. I had a few personal problems during the last few weeks, and I just couldn't write. But I intend to finish this story before Season 8 starts, so it will probably be finished by the end of August.

Here it is, the next chapter of this story. I hope you like it! :-)

And thanks you guys for the lovely reviews! I'm so happy you enjoyed it!

I own nothing.

* * *

The streetlight reaching through the window and the little LEDs and screens from the equipments helped to illuminate the room. Mary was immersed in a deep sleep. He watched her through the small opening at the door of her room at the ICU. Even with all the medical equipment attached to her body, he could see her semblance. Her eyebrows slightly arched down, her eyes closed. Her chest moved up and down in a regular, slow breathing. The sound of the heart monitoring machine beeped in regular intervals. There was no sign she would wake up soon, and Ron just couldn't sleep. He felt a hand touching his shoulder and turned his head.

"Hey, why don't you rest a little, uh?"

"I just can't sleep, George. Not while I don't know what is going to happen to her."

George took his arm and led him to the chairs near the hall. "You standing here is not going to make her wake up earlier, you know." Ron sighed, he knew there was nothing he could do besides stay there for her.

"But what if she wakes up and I'm not here for her?"

"Ron, I'm also really worried about Mom, but we need to trust God and his ways. I guess if she's asleep there is a reason for that, she's probably in need of a good rest."

Ron has always admired George's calm and optimism, but he never thought he could handle his mother's illness so well.

"Let me take you out to eat something, you must be starving!"

"I'm not really hungry, but thanks for being here, son."

"Well, even though I'm not your blood son, I already consider you a good dad."

Ron reached George for a man hug, tapping each other on the back. A tear fell from Ron's eye, as he realized how close he got to all the Coopers. He loved Mary and all her family. He just wished he would be this close to his daughter.

As they broke the hug, a nurse arrived to check on Mary and change her medication. Ron and George stood up and followed her.

"Excuse me, Ms…" He tried to read from the tag on her uniform.

"Peterson. How can I help you sir?"

"Ms. Peterson, I'd like to see Mary for just a while, can I come inside with you?"

"Well, visitors are usually not allowed to enter the ICU, especially this late. But if you promise to be there for no longer than 10 minutes while I change her medication I guess there is no problem. Just please, don't put me into trouble."

"Of course, I just want to see her a bit closer."

She opened the door and let the two men in. While she started washing her hands and then opening the packages of the medication, George stood beside Mary and kissed her forehead. He made room for Ron to get closer to her and stood by his side. Ron reached her hand, caressing her palm with his fingers, and planted a kiss on her forehead as well. He turned to see what the nurse was doing, when he heard a low voice.

"I missed you, George."

Both turned to her. George knew she was not talking about him. She never called him that. George was his father. He saw on Ron's disappointed eyes that he was aware of that too.

"Mom, can you hear us?"

Nothing. Mary was still in her deep sleep, but they could see a little smile forming in her mouth. Ron turned to the nurse. "Thanks for letting us in. Excuse me." He left the room and moved in the direction of the elevator. George excused himself as well and left, walking after him.

"Wait Ron, where are you going?"

"I need some time alone, George. Maybe she doesn't need me here after all."

"What? Hey, wait, don't take what she said in her sleep as if she doesn't need you. Of course she needs you here, man!"

"How can you be so sure? She's obviously not over your dad. Maybe she'll never be."

"Ron, listen to me!" He griped his arm. "I know she will always love my dad, but now she needs to move on. You have to be there for her, man! Don't give up this easily!"

Ron didn't say anything, he just nodded. As the elevator arrived, both entered and pressed the ground floor button. "Hey, let's go somewhere, we need to get out of this hospital."

"Ok. What do you have in mind?"

"I'm eager for a beer. Would you join me?"

"Err… You know I don't do that anymore."

"Well, so just be there and have something else!"

They stopped at a bar on their way home. The place was almost empty, except for a few couples on the tables by the window and an old man sitting at a stool, with his head down on the counter.

"Hey, Junior, good to see you!" The bartender blinked at him. She was a middle aged woman, who had probably been a heartbreaker one day.

"Meg, a beer for me, and… What do you want, Ron?"

"Make it two."

* * *

**"****Howaaaard, what are you waiting for? Bring me my chocolate chip cookies, I ****_need_**** them!"**

**"****I'm coming!"**

Bernie rolled her eyes. Her mother-in-law sometimes was a pain in the ass. Why did she said she would come with him to take care of his mom? He was the one who gave Stuart a day off, so he should be the one to face the consequences! She was sitting on the sofa, arms and legs crossed, trying to watch a documentary about bees.

"Sorry, Bernie, you know that she will not calm down until she has her cookies."

She glanced at him with the corner of her eye, not moving an inch from her position. He sat by her side, caressing her arm. She flinched at his touch, sending him a death stare.

"Howie, you know how exhausted I am! How dare you bring me here in the middle of the week to take care of your mother? Do you know how late it is?"

"Bernie, she's my mother, I need to take care of her!"

"No, Stuart needs to take care of her. It's the second time this week you gave him a night off."

Howie looked down, staring at his hands. He didn't want to admit it even for himself, but he knew that Sheldon's mother being in a hospital with a tumor has frightened him a lot. He wondered what would it be like if his own mother was found in this condition. He didn't know how he would be able to carry her for a start. But he couldn't tell Bernie about it yet, and with her temper it would be even harder to try to explain that he's just concerned about his mom.

"You know how Stuart is, he needed to solve a few problems about the comic book store insurance and I couldn't say no." He still couldn't look at her.

Bernadette knew that that was not the reason. Stuart was a good man, she couldn't complain about him, especially because she remembered how hard it was to find a person who would take care of Mrs. Wolowitz. There was something that Howard was not telling her.

"Howie, who are you trying to fool here? Aren't you going to tell me what's going on?" She moved closer to him, took his chin with her hand and spin his face to look at her. "You're going to tell me that now."

"Bernie, it's… nothing. I don't want to talk about it. I can't, please don't push me that hard."

"Oh, you bet me I'll push you. Come on you putz, spill!"

**"****Are the two of you over there ****_arguing_**** again?"**

**"****We're just ****_talking_****!" **Bernie yelled back.

**"****Howard, what have you done this time? You're not ****_cheating_**** on that little girl of yours, are you?"**

**"****No! ****_Of course_**** not! We're just talking, for God's sake!"**

**"****Ok, but don't you dare to get divorced, I want my grandchildren soon!"**

Bernie hated when that subject came over, she just didn't want to discuss children at all by now.

"What does one have to do to get this thing over and go home?" She stood up and headed to Mrs. Wolowitz's room, leaving Howard alone sitting on the sofa. He'd better not to say anything else today, it would just make things even worse.

* * *

It was 4 am and Amy couldn't sleep because of the heat. Texas didn't have high temperatures only during the day, the nights were also awfully hot. Sheldon was sleeping like a baby, and his warm body close to hers was not helpful. She sneaked out of bed, willing for a cold shower, or maybe she would just go outside for a while. She tip toed in the bedroom, searching in the dark for her robe and carefully opened the door. The hall was dark, but after a while she could find the door to the bathroom. She didn't want to wake Sheldon up. In fact, all she wanted was to have him in the shower with her now, but he was so peaceful in his sleep…

Amy turned to the mirror and saw her own face. Sheldon repeated so many times today that she was beautiful. Could she find that beauty in herself? It's not that she found herself repellent. But there were so many other women so much better looking than her… However, she was not that bad… She knew she had great green eyes… And her hair was long and soft, she always loved that quality in herself. Taking the robe off, she stared at her naked body reflected in the mirror. She lost some weight in the last few years, and she tried to see herself the way Sheldon did. He saw her full body naked for the first time… Well, he had already seen her a few years ago when she was sick and he bathed her. But it was different… That time he was probably not interested in her in _that_ way… Well… It was definitely worth waiting. It has been the most amazing moment of her life. He finally expressed his feelings for her, he was so caring and so gentle, she couldn't believe it. He was not that selfish Sheldon who would only think about himself. He was the best boyfriend ever. She smiled at herself, feeling more confident, knowing how it was to feel desired. He_ desired _her. He _made love_ to her.

She turned the shower on, and let the cold water massage her back, her shoulders, the top of her head. Moving her head to each side, she let the water run and relieve the heat. She suddenly heard three knocks on the door. "Amy." Another sequence of knocks. "Amy." She smiled, waiting for the third sequence and her name again. "Amy."

"Come in, Sheldon."

"Why are you taking a shower so late?"

"Well, I'm not used to the heat, I really needed to freshen up." Should she ask him to join her? Or would it be too soon for that?

"Err… I… Would you… Err…" He blushed, trying to say something he felt too ashamed to ask, even though he was dying for it.

"What, Sheldon? Do you need anything?"

He took a deep breath. "_You can do it, just ask her… Or not"_. He removed his pajamas pants and his underwear, opened the curtains and joined her in the shower. Amy stood there in shock, her eyes wide and her mouth dropped open. She couldn't believe he was willing to join her on his own will.

"Hello" He greeted her with a shy grin.

"Hello" She grinned too. He stepped closer to her, feeling her body next to him, he held her with his hands on her hips and pressed his mouth against hers in a passionate kiss. Soon they were lost in each other, making out under the cold water spray. She kissed his neck while he was working his hands on her breasts, rubbing her nipples with his thumbs. She drove her hands to his chest, mirroring his actions, while Sheldon moved down his hands to her back and to her bottom. He pulled her closer to him, pressing her skin and caressing her posterior with his fingers. He spun her so her back turned to him, with his hands on her hips pulling her body onto him. He loved that sensation of his erection pressed against her. He nibbled her earlobe, his left hand caressing now her breast and the other one slipped down to her folds, finding her clit. Amy moaned with his touch, her legs weakened, and she elevated her arms, holding him by his nape, caressing his hair. Sheldon pressed her even closer to his body, moving his right hand up and down caressing her stomach and her breasts, while his fingers rubbed her clit slowly, melting her in his hands.

"Take me, Sheldon" That was all she could whisper in his ear before he kissed her mouth vigorously. He pressed her body against the wall, holding her up with his arms high enough to place his cock into her entrance, and slowly lowered her, filling her in completely. Amy threw her head back over his shoulder, kissing his ear and his neck, her eyes closed, just feeling him slowly thrust inside of her.

His mind was blank. All he could think was how amazing it felt. He never wanted it to end. He could spend all his life holding her against his body and being inside of her. Was she feeling the same as him? Then an idea crossed his mind: she could feel much more than that. So he instantly moved one of his hands down, caressing her folds and he slid a finger back to her clit, moving in circles. He heard her moan, and she felt her whole body shake in pleasure. She had never felt like that before. She couldn't move, her head supported by his neck, her legs shaking so much she thought she would never be able to stand again. Sheldon was amazed by how her body was responding to his touch, and started thrusting harder against her, slamming his hips against her butt. He felt her walls clenching against him as she released her orgasm, and he thrust a few more times until he felt his own body paralyzed and he came inside of her. He held her for a couple of minutes before lowering her back to the floor, but he didn't let her go. He turned her to face him, holding her back and kissing her softly, tongues met and their kiss deepened. They didn't have to say anything. Their minds were connected. And they were now complete.

They showered together and Sheldon picked up two towels for them. He placed one around Amy, pulling her to him for another passionate kiss. They wrapped themselves in the towels and went back to his room to lie down again and go back to sleep.

"Do we need to put clothes on? I would like to feel your body against mine…"

"Sheldon, are you sure you want to sleep without your pajamas?"

"Oh yes, I prefer much more to feel your skin against mine." He hang his towel on the hanger on the wall, and slipped under the sheets, lying on his back.

Amy beamed, hanging her towel next to his, and lay on his bed next to him. He placed his arm under her shoulders, kissing her cheek, with his other arm caressing her stomach. Amy caressed his arm, kissing his neck.

"Would you mind if we sleep for a few hours? I'm exhausted!"

"Of course, I'm exhausted as well! You wore me out, woman." He smiled at her, with a look on his faced with a mixture of pride and happiness.

Amy closed her eyes, with her head on his chest, and soon was asleep. Sheldon stayed a few minutes awake, watching her sleep, caressing her hair. He never thought he could be so lucky to have her there with him. With Amy there, all his problems seemed to be gone away.

Sheldon was almost asleep when he heard a noise coming from downstairs.

* * *

Holding each other's shoulders, the two men entered in the house. George turned the lights on, which blinded them both, and they tried to reach for the couch, but stumbled on the coffee table, dropping a metal horse on the floor as well as the basket with small glass balls which spread all over the living room, kicking and making an awful noise. They lay on the couch, heads spinning, arms and legs thrown down as if they had been defeated in a battle.

"What in the world is this?"

George opened one eye and saw his little brother standing in his robe in the middle of the living room, and he was definitely not happy about seeing them there in such state. "Hey, Shelly…" He couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Ron, have you been drinking? I can't believe this."

Ron didn't say a word. His head was spinning, and he was so ashamed of himself that he couldn't even look up to face Mary's son.

"And George, I'm pretty sure you're the one to blame for… _that_." He pointed to Ron. "He hasn't being drunk in years, and now he arrives home with _you_ in such deplorable state… How could you do that to him?"

"Hey, wait! You can't blame _me_! _He_ wanted that."

"But you could have stopped him. And you shouldn't be drinking that much as well. Where is your wife and your son now?"

George closed his eyes… Sheldon was right, he should be with his family… But he told his wife he would be spending the night at the hospital, so it was not such a big deal.

"Come on, Shelly, take it easy on me… If you had been there you'd have had one too."

"Are you out of your mind? You know I don't do alcohol. I'm not a drunken beast like our dad."

"Are… Are you calling me a drunken beast?" George stood up, ready to teach his little brother a lesson… But pathetically he couldn't even stand straight, a few seconds later he fell on the couch again.

"Well, that's proof enough. It's pretty clear to me you decided to follow our dad's regrettable behavior."

George was getting really mad at Sheldon. He reached for the first thing he could find and threw it on him. The tall physician could easily dodge from the object, which hit the wall behind him, breaking into hundreds of pieces of glass.

"Did you realize what you threw at me, you moron?"

"Oh no!"

They both looked at the shattered glass sphere their father gave Mary on the day she had the twins. The two little cribs side by side were still glued to the base, but all the little "snow flakes" were spread all over the floor with the shattered glass. They knew how much she loved that thing. George stood up and ran to try to catch the pieces, only to cut himself bad in his hand.

"Sheldon, what's going on here?" He heard the sweetest voice coming from the base of the stairs. Amy was looking at them, trying to understand what was going on. "Oh, is that a cut in your hand? You'll need stitches!"

George didn't stop, he was still on his knees grabbing all the pieces of glass and trying effortlessly to rebuild it. "Oh, no, mom is gonna kill us, Shelly!"

"_Us?_ She's gonna kill _you_! You messed up bad now, ya know!"

Amy helped George to stand up, carefully removing the glasses from his hands and knees. He was so inebriated that he couldn't even realize how hurt he was. He had tears in his eyes, lamenting the stupidity of his own actions. She helped him sit down on a chair, while she gesticulated for Sheldon to find bandages and antiseptics to clean his cuts.

Ron just watched the whole scene. He didn't say anything. He didn't move. It was like he was watching a movie, that he thought he was part of, but now he was not pretty sure anymore. With all the alcohol in his head, he couldn't think clearly. He couldn't stop thinking about Mary saying she missed George. George, not him. He would never be enough for her. Perhaps he should leave. He stood up even though he was still dizzy, and tried to reach the front door. He slipped on a few glass balls, falling hard right in front of the open door, when he lifted his head and saw Missy standing there.

"What the hell is going on here?" Missy saw what looked like a crime scene. Shattered glass everywhere, George crying and bleeding, Ron fallen on the floor near the door.

Amy appeared again from the bathroom door, where she had been washing her hands. "Oh, hi Missy. I think there was an accident here, but I'm also not quite sure about what _really_ happened." Sheldon came downstairs with a first aid kit in his hands and saw Missy standing by the door, her eyes wide staring at the little twin cribs on the floor. "Oh my Goodness! Is that what I think it is?" She had tears falling from her eyes.

"Be careful Missy, there's a lot of glass on the floor, you'll not want to cut yourself like this moron here." Sheldon put the box on the table and went to the backside of the house to find a broom and a dustpan.

"Ron, what are you doing on the floor? Wait… are you drunk? What have you done to him, Junior?"

George didn't answer, he just shook his head slowly. Amy began to take care of his cuts, when Sheldon appeared again and started cleaning the floor. "George was clearly a bad influence to him, Missy. It's not Ron's fault."

"Why aren't y'all at the hospital? I was expecting to find just Shelly and Amy having breakfast here, but I find a horror movie scene?"

"I'm sorry, Missy, I know I promised to stay there with Mary all night long, but…"

"Well, you explain that later. I've received a call from the hospital. Mom woke up."

* * *

**A/N:** So guys, tell me what you think about this story, ok? I had to adjust a few things, I changed a little my original idea to fit it better. Please review! :-)


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